You have every right to a bad day, you just don’t have the right to be an asshole.

Well, technically you do have the right to be an ass but it isn’t helpful.

I woke up this morning with this annoying feeling of sand in the back of my throat and a low-dull headache. I’ve felt slightly off this entire week; you know the feeling, when there is a cold or flu lurking in the weeds, just waiting for your immune system to weaken so it can pounce! I hate that feeling and when I recognize it, I’m diligent not to let that little sucker in. I avoid stress, am sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep, double up my vitamin C and avoid all inflammatory foods. It usually works.

Feeling overwhelmed and generally angry at the world this morning, what I wanted to do was go back to sleep for a few more hours. Instead, I showered and decided I’d grab my laptop from the office and work from home (everyone might be safer with me working solo today;) I was out of creamer for my coffee, so I’d grab a coffee while I was running to the office and while I was at it, I’d swing by the grocery store before anyone else is out and about. Good plan.

Walked outside and it’s the sort of cold right now where you just want to yell expletives (think Ralphie as he’s pummeling Scud Farkis). I get in my freezing cold car, only to get to the grocery store to find it closed. So I swing by a nearby coffee stand, one that I’ve never been to before but at least I can grab a coffee. Turns out there’s good reason I’ve never been there. One sip of this $5.00 Folgers and it goes in the trash. Down to my office I go, no coffee yet and no groceries which means I’ll have to venture out in this irritatingly frigid weather later today if my family wants dinner tonight. Finally grab my laptop, stop for coffee at my favorite coffee joint next door and back home. 8:00am and so far I’ve spent $11.00 on coffee and have zero work completed. Not a great start to my day.

We all have days like this and they’re no fun. As you know well by now, I’m not a motivator and despise trite sayings and memes that sadly, are everywhere on the internet these days. I’m a realist and when I’m having a day bad, I focus my energy on not making others have an equally bad day. Just because I’m off track doesn’t mean people around me have to suffer right along with me. I keep to myself, limit irritating people and things that will make my day worse and get my work done. Some days we aren’t going to be at our best, but we can at least be better than terrible.

I give people around me the heads up that my day isn’t going so well and I’d like to be left alone. There’s tremendous value in learning to ask others for what you’d like instead of expecting them to know. They’ll appreciate your honesty, instead of being around you and feeling your negative energy, wondering if they have something to do with it.

By the end of these so called bad days, I usually feel pretty good because I didn’t make things worse. While that isn’t something to pride myself on, it sure beats the hell out of making other people miserable. If this sounds like a pretty low bar, give yourself a reality check. We humans have an uncanny ability to make bad situations much, much worse.

So when you aren’t at your best, try not to be at your worst.