Hi guys! Welcome to Episode 583 of the wildly successful lifestyle podcast! Thanks for being here. It’s so fun to get to connect with you every week on Monday and Friday…it starts the week off right and ends it on a high note don’t you think? Alright, have you guys ever had a day where things just seem to be veering off the rails? Maybe it got off to a rough start and kept going from there? I’ve been thinking about this a lot this week, experiencing it too, but really thinking about not letting the bad days—or even the bad moments—win. How do we keep those rough patches from derailing us? Honestly the reason it was so on my mind was this…..
The other day, I was at the gym, sweating it out, minding my own business, when I saw this guy wearing a T-shirt. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m that person who has to read every word on someone’s shirt. It’s like a reflex—I can’t help it. Even if I have to squint or look like a total weirdo, I’m reading that T-shirt. And this one said, “Don’t Let the Bad Days Win.”
I was like, whoa, “Yeah, don’t let the bad days win!” And I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Maybe I thought about it a little too much, but you know what? When something hits you and makes you feel a tiny bit better, a tiny bit stronger, there’s nothing wrong with letting it marinate.
Because, who doesn’t have bad days? We all do. But here’s the thing—it doesn’t even have to be a whole day. Sometimes it’s just a bad moment. A bad hour. A bad morning. And if we’re not careful, those moments can sneak up, grab hold, and turn into a whole bad day. Or worse, a bad week. It’s like a snowball rolling downhill, picking up speed, and before you know it, you’re buried under it.
This last Monday was almost one of those days for me. It was one of those days where I didn’t have any appointments, no big plans, just a blank slate. Sounds great, right? Except I started lazing around, scrolling on my phone way too much. And you know how that goes—scrolling makes me feel lethargic and dazed. There’s always some article or post that makes you feel like you’re not doing enough, or news that is designed to scare you, there’s not usually a lot of good that comes from scrolling too much.
So, here I am, already feeling blah, and what do I do? I do what I’ve talked about doing before, I go on a mission for something sweet. Now normally, there is absolutely nothing in my house that will derail my day, we don’t keep junk food. But, my sister-in-law, bless her, had brought homemade cookies when she came over the other night. And we had leftovers. Eric, my husband, was like, “Babe, maybe let’s give those to the neighbor so we don’t eat them all.” Smart man. Did I listen? Nope. I froze those cookies, thinking I’d outsmart myself. Spoiler: I did not I dug them out of the freezer, and next thing you know, I’m eating two cookies on a Monday morning. Not the end of the world, but it was like, “Okay, now I feel sluggish and guilty.”
That moment could’ve been it. I could’ve let it spiral. Because that’s how it works, right? One bad choice leads to another. I was this close to canceling my gym class that afternoon. I was like, “You know what, I’m not feeling it. I’ll just stay home, maybe watch a movie, and call it a day.” But then I stopped and thought, “Hold on. If I keep making choices that make me feel worse, how am I ever gonna feel better?”
So, I made a deal with myself. I put on my gym clothes—because sometimes just getting dressed is half the battle—and I dragged myself to that class. And you know what? It was the best decision I made all day. My friend was there, we chatted, we laughed, and the workout was tough but in a good way. It got me moving, got my blood pumping, and just like that, I was out of my funk. I came home, made Eric a healthy dinner—salad and red lentil spaghetti which was surprisingly good and also gluten and grain fee—and the night ended so much better than it started. All because I didn’t let those bad moments win.
That’s the thing about bad days or bad moments—they don’t have to define you. They don’t have to set the tone for everything else. You have the power to hit reset. It’s not about being perfect or never having a bad moment. It’s about recognizing when you’re slipping and making one small choice to pull yourself back.
It’s never really about perfection, it’s about how you deal with the things that come up.
So, here’s what I’ve been thinking about since that T-shirt moment. Bad days, bad moments—they’re gonna happen. Life’s messy like that. But we get to decide how much power we give them. For me, it’s about catching myself in those moments and asking, “Okay, what’s one thing I can do right now to feel a little better?” Sometimes it’s going to the gym. Sometimes it’s calling a friend. Sometimes it’s grabbing a water and going out back with my pups and hanging out outside for a minute, leaving my phone inside.
And here’s a little tip that’s been working for me: when you’re in that spiral, try to move your body. Doesn’t have to be a full-on gym session. Go for a walk, stretch, dance in your kitchen—whatever. Movement shakes things up, physically and mentally. It’s like telling that bad moment, “You don’t get to run the show.”
Another thing? Be kind to yourself. I ate those cookies, and yeah, maybe it wasn’t my best moment, but beating myself up about it wasn’t gonna help. Instead, I acknowledged it, moved on, and made a better choice later. That’s the key—not letting one slip-up define the whole day.
My challenge to you today is to notice when you may be starting a bad decision spiral and in real time decide to do one thing that makes you feel better. The key is to be aware that you’re doing it so that you can fix it before it becomes a snowball. For me, it’s just always keeping that thought close to mind to not let the bad days win that will get me focused on what I can do to shift gears and maybe that might work for you too. Share this with someone who may need to hear this today, I love you guys! I’ll talk to you in a few days!
