Oct 8, 2009

be the first to give the love on bad days

I've had bad days.
Everyone has. 
The past few days have been bad days. I'll keep hoping I'll wake up tomorrow and find sunny skies....
I have learned something very important about bad days, that I think we all should learn.
Ready?
No one is going to treat you different if you are having a bad day.
Just because you failed your math test and broke up with your significant other that day does not mean that when you get home your mom isn't going to get on your case about cleaning your room and emptying the dishwasher. 
Just because you had this awesome proposal at work that everyone shot down, doesn't mean that the man in the dodge stratus next to you on the freeway will refrain from cutting you off. He's not even thinking about you. He has somewhere to be.
So here's what you should get out of all of this:
People are selfish. And if your day was crap, don't expect anyone to treat you any differently. They are thinking of themselves more often than not and will interact with you based on their day and not yours. 
I learned this the hard way.
It's a hard knock life, children.
If my mom had a good day, she wouldn't bug me about my room and probably sit down and try to talk with me instead.
If the guy in the dodge stratus didn't have somewhere to be, he would probably happily let you into the space in front of him.
There's no way of knowing. 

Now, here is what you really should get out of this:
The only thing we can do about this, is to be the bigger person. I promise it will help with your bad day. Be the first to give the love. You've had a crappy day, but you also have no idea what is going on in the minds of everyone around you. Maybe their day was equally crappy, or worse. They probably need a hug as much as you do. Stop thinking about yourself on your bad days and what happened to you, and instead think about what is happening to everyone around you. There are so many people in the world, it's simply ridiculous to think you are the most important one. Because you know what it's like to be down, lift someone up. 

I don't know about you, but I don't wish bad days on anyone. 
So let's learn from them.