Have you ever had one of those days?

I’m talking about those days when you feel like you have things all together. You’re on a roll and getting everything done.

But then—something shows up that causes everything to go off track.

Well, between yesterday and today, I’ve experienced that kind of day two days in a row.

Mama Told Me There’d Be Days Like This

Lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m really moving forward with things. I’m getting a lot of work done at home and in my business and moving forward with my new book in exciting ways.

Then, yesterday morning, I had my ringer off because I’m a terrible sleeper, only to realize I had missed nine calls from my son. (That’s pretty bad parenting right there.)

I quickly called my son and learned that he had a flat tire right before he reached the school. And instead of stopping, he kept driving on the flat tire.

Hoping that the damage was minimal, we got AAA out there to put on the spare. Then I had to commit time in the afternoon to try and get the tire fixed.

I got it to the first tire place but realized once we got there that it wasn’t just the tire that needed to be fixed. The rim was completely bent and would also need to be fixed.

So, this morning, I had seventeen things on my schedule, but first on the list was taking the tire and rim to a place where a guy said he could fix it.

Sadly, once the guy saw the tire and rim, he said that it was going to take a lot more than he thought to fix the rim and the tire wasn’t even fixable.

He told us we would need a whole new tire and, wouldn’t you know it, he doesn’t even carry the tire we need.

This means that this afternoon, I’ve got to figure out where to go to get a new tire.

It’s Often the Little Things That Derail Us

Fixing a tire may not seem like a big deal, but these are the kind of little things that can derail your day.

When you feel like you’re getting a lot done and you’re really organized and knocking things off your list, it’s little things like this that can become very frustrating.

So, the rest of my day is going to be spent figuring out how to fix this tire.

It may sound ridiculous to be frustrated about such a silly thing, but it happens more than we would like to admit.

I find that it’s very symbolic of how the little things that happen in our lives can derail us. And before we even realize it, our frustration can cause us to lose the positive momentum we had.

This is why we need to take a step back and remind ourselves that this is only temporary.

And once we manage the setback, whatever momentum we had before it happened we can easily get back again.

Bad Days Are Temporary

Whatever is happening in your life to take you off track, remember that it’s temporary.

Whether it’s something ridiculous like a flat tire or something you’re struggling with in your relationship or your job, setbacks are temporary. They don’t last forever.

Getting back on track begins with where you place your focus.

Rather than focusing on how crappy things are at the moment, determine what it is that you can do now to move forward.

Then simply focus on your next right step.

There are so many things that happen to us that we have no control over. A flat tire is just an example.

But it’s still enough to set off our day in a totally different direction that we really didn’t want to go.

I had so many things scheduled that I could no longer focus on because the tire became an all-encompassing problem that had to be dealt with.

So, my next right step was fixing the tire without getting overly frustrated about it—because frustration just adds more hardship to an already challenging situation.

Five Things To Do With a Bad Day

We may not have control over the things that come up in our day, but we do have control over how we react to them.

Here are some things that have helped me get through a bad day.

Take Deep Breaths. I know it may sound silly, but breathing really can help manage your stress and calm your nervous system.

Remind Yourself That You’re Doing What You Can. Put your creativity hat on and figure out how you can still move forward in your goals while also managing the problem.

For example, today, I brought my computer and book with me (all work-related) so that no matter where I am, I can still get some work done.

Brainstorm What To Do Next Time. Hopefully, there won’t be a next time, but if there were, what would you do differently? This will make things easier for you if it ever were to happen again.

There may be nothing you could change. But taking the time to evaluate the situation can still be helpful.

Put Things in Perspective. The past two days may have been frustrating for me. But the reality of it all is that these days are only temporary.

Tomorrow, the tire will be fixed, and I will be able to move forward. I won’t have to think about it again until the next time it happens.

Accept the Things You Can’t Control. Too many times, we get really frustrated and angry because of what’s happening to us. But the reality is, there is nothing we can do when life throws us a curve ball.

What we can do is accept the things we can’t control, be a little more flexible, and ask other people in our lives to be a little more flexible, too.

If you need to reschedule something, reschedule it. Give yourself grace and give others grace, too.

Your Mindset Matters

Having a bad day is really about our mindset.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, the story we tell ourselves is important.

We can’t let something as silly as a flat tire stop us from moving forward.

The best thing we can do is accept the things we cannot change while cheerfully doing the things we can.

The great thing about a bad day is that it’s just one day (or maybe two).

In the weeks and years and decades of days that are ahead of us, one bad day is really small in the whole scheme of things.

Life moves on, and so must we.

Thankfully, on those bad days, there is one thing we can be sure of—there will always be a better tomorrow ahead of us.