Good days or bad days . . . and a lot in breween.

Good days or bad days . . . . and a lot in between!

Tim Connor

Ever had a bad day . . . a good one?  Had more bad ones than good ones in a week or month?  Had more good ones in a year than you feel you deserved?  Dumb questions? Well, trust me I have a lot more, but I’ll save them for another time but let me ask you two more . . . How do you define good and bad? And, in the end, which ones helped you grow, learn, become or contribute more to others?  More dumb questions? I don’t think so but I’m writing this article so the real answers are up to you, but I would ask you to finish reading before you decide on your answers.  So here goes.

What’s a good day?

So, today - you got a raise, didn’t get a flat tire, had lunch with friends, had a wonderful date night with your spouse, got a text from your Doc. and he said you have a clean bill of health and the good stuff just kept on coming – all in all – a good day.

What’s a bad day? You got bad news from your dentist, the AC in your car crashed, you lost your favorite – whatever – your kids got in trouble in school and yes, so much more.

So, let me ask you - who or what is in charge or in control of your day – you or the stuff that happens during the day?  In other words, when good stuff happens you have a good day and when bad stuff happens, well it’s a bad day.  See where I’m going with this.  If the stuff that happens determines whether your day is a good one or a bad one – you are not in control of your day – your day (the stuff that happens) is in control of you.

Here’s the bigger problem – the same could be said of weeks, months or even years. Are you having a good year or a bad one? Are you having a good life or a bad one?  I mean I could go on and on with this crap but I’m sure you have got it by now.  All I’m asking is as you go through life, no matter how long or short it is or what happens or what doesn’t or what you get or what you lose, etc. – who or what is in control?

My observations over the years having spoken on 25 countries and met thousands of people around the world is simply that the majority of people are not in control of their days, oh if you asked them all, they think they are and would say they are, but watch how they react or respond to the stuff that happens throughout the day or week, etc. and then ask yourself the simple question – who or what do you think is in control of their life? A better question is which is in control of your days/life?

Here’s a thought – stop labeling your days as good or bad, just be glad you got another one cause do you know how many people die every day in this world – well it's over 150,000 - you weren’t one of them today so – today is a good day?

Here’s another thought – generally we learn little from the good days or good stuff that happens on what we call good days.  It’s the perceived bad days, events, situations, people or circumstances that we call or define as bad that often give us the greatest opportunities for faster growth, new learning, new creative ideas or solutions, and overall increased wisdom.  So, consider that the bad days, in the end, might actually be better than the good days – what an amazing concept – but you might want to keep it to yourself as sharing it with others – well, they might think you have gone off the deep end.