I'm having one of those days. One of those days when the power goes out and my back goes out and the dog keeps yelling at an invisible squirrel and things keep going wrong until I'm completely and ineluctably cranky. Is "ineluctably" a word? I'm not even sure. Note to self: Look it up before you press publish. Because I'm cranky, I was - predictably - feeling cranky about writing here. But I told myself I would write a post today and I'm trying to keep my promises to myself. Life tends to go better when I'm doing the things I say I'll do. Doing the things circumnavigates the slow erosion of motivation and self-esteem that comes with breaking my word to myself over and over again. Note to self #2: Don't do that.
THEREFORE.
Here's What I Tell Myself When I Need to Vanquish the Crank Monster and Get My Shit Done
In the end, it doesn't matter what you do so long as you love it. So don't worry about doing exactly the right thing all the time. Just love what you're doing. (Today you're allowed to just sort of enjoy it maybe.)
Do things faster. It doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be done. Plus, the more you do, the better you feel and the better you get at doing that thing. And let's face it, you like to be good at things.
Send money to someone who needs it more than you do. Heifer International, Kiva, Feeding America. There. The world is a slightly better place.
You don't have to listen to your brain today. Just gently shush it when it starts yelling at you in all caps about DOOM AND DESTRUCTION AND YOUR BANK ACCOUNT IS A DISGRACE AND SO IS YOUR HAIR and get on with your day. Bye bye, brain. I just gave you a vacation. Go lie in the hammock and read a book.
Pay attention to what's going on outside your own bad day. The world is highly skilled at providing perspective. I just looked up from my laptop for three seconds and, in that three seconds, the girl behind the counter offered a customer her own personal snack because they only sell sugar and the customer is starving but can't have sugar. "We don't sell them, but I have a banana in the back. You can have it if you want." A nice thing.
I also look at this. Love notes never fail to make me feel better, even if I was the one who wrote it. Especially if I was the one who wrote it.
(Hey, look. Ineluctably is totally a word. I even used it properly. A childhood spent reading books instead of engaging with the real world pays off again!)
Well, that was just a little blog post journey, wasn't it? From cranky to far-less-cranky-with-the-possibility-of-happy-sometime-today in - let's see - nine paragraphs. HOORAY. I WIN AT BEING CRANKY.
What do you do to stave off the bad mood? Seriously. I need more ideas.