How to Create an Awesome Day

How to Create an Awesome Day

Life should be a collection of well-lived days.

The goal isn’t to have great days every day-that would be unrealistic to the human experience.  Sometimes, we want to feel unhappy due to loss, hardship, sickness, and other circumstances.

But for your average day, most of the time a bad day is caused by a mis-management of your mind.

At first, it takes time to get the momentum going to have great days.  You must train your brain to think and go to default of positive and uplifting.

Managing your mind well won’t prevent you from having bad days entirely, but it will minimize them and help you get out of a funk faster.

Let’s discuss the makings of a great day

How to Create an Awesome Day

Manage Your Brain First

The first thing you should do when you wake up is clean up bad feelings such as anxiety and overwhelm.

Ask yourself, “How do I want to feel today?  What is the result or results I’m committed to creating today?”

A great tool you can use to manage your brain in the morning is a journal. If you don’t have an intentional morning routine set up already, create one.

Journaling should be a key component of your morning routine, and it will help you nix bad feelings in the bud and start your day with clarity.

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Exercise

Studies have proven exercise releases feel-good endorphins.  Not only does exercise make you feel better physically, you feel better emotionally and mentally.

Make exercise a priority in your every day life.  Even if it’s just a 20-minute walk, it will make all the difference in the world.

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Eat Well

Nourish your body with good foods that boost brain power and energize you.  Avoid over-eating and picking up sugary Frappuccino’s in the morning and hitting the drive through for fast food at lunchtime.

If you ever came back from your lunch hour with brain fog, look no further than what you ate for breakfast and lunch.  Clean foods keep your mind sharp.  Over-eating or making poor food choices make you feel tired and sluggish.

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Get Dressed with Intention

Bad moods feed themselves.

You may want to reach for the comfy sweats or pajamas-especially if you work from home.  But these articles of clothing can actually make you feel worse, believe it or not.

Of course, there is a time and a place for sweatpants and pajamas.  Just make sure they aren’t torn, tattered, faded, stained, etc. If you would be embarrassed to wear an article of clothing outside of the house due to its condition, it’s time to get rid of it.

How you dress is shaping your self-image.  So wear clothes that make you feel confident.

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Avoid Low-Quality Input

As a society, we spend way, way too much time on low-quality input.  This includes social media and television.

One of the worst ways you can start your day is by scrolling social media first thing in the morning.  You are subjecting yourself to other people’s agendas and their drama.  Think about how you want to set the tone for your day-chances are, you don’t want to set it with social media or the news.

Wait until you’ve at a minimum gone through your morning routine before using social media, and set a time limit on it.  As someone who does not check social media until at least the early afternoon, I can tell you that you will notice an improved mood simply by mindfully consuming social media.

The same goes for television.

Related:

• 5 Ways to Unplug from Social Media
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Make Time for “Me Time” or Pleasure

Think about your favorite activities that relax you and bring you joy.

For me, these activities are reading, cross-stitching, and playing my Nintendo Switch. It also includes little moments like watching the sunset.

Whatever you enjoy doing, make time for your favorite activities.  Even if it’s just 30 minutes a day.

I recently discovered how calming it is to cross-stitch on my lunch hour.  Granted, I’m often busy on my lunch hour and can’t fit the time in, but sometimes I can, and it greatly improves my mood.

Carve out time for the things you love.

Related:

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Wrap Up Your Day Right

Similarly to a morning routine, you need an evening routine.  A time where you’ll ditch screens for the rest of the evening and maybe make yourself a cup of tea and curl up with a book.

As you settle down for the evening, find something to celebrate from your day. I swear by my gratitude practice of writing down five things that happened in the last 24 hours that I am grateful for.  It makes me see how much joy can be found in the every day.  Whether you engage in this practice in the morning or evening, I encourage you to try it.

Related:

• The Truth About Self-Care
• Journal Prompts
• Gratitude: A Day and Night Reflection Journal
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Before You Go

You can’t eliminate bad days entirely, but you can break the cycle of them by learning to manage your mind and purposefully filling your day with habits and a routine that set you up for the makings of a great day.