Ingredients for a perfect day
Monday morning of all days and my key is stuck in the keyhole. I tried moving the key side to side but it wouldn’t budge. I went back inside the house, got a can of oil spray and sprayed a little into the keyhole but no luck.
“Not today”, I said to myself. Monday morning of all days? What a start to the week? If the start of the day is good, the rest of the day will be good right?
There are those days when you wake up in a bad mood and then there are those days when things don’t start off on the right note. Have you ever had one of those days? As I was huffing and puffing in annoyance, this little incident brought a realisation to my mind.
I can either have a difficult day or I can have an amazing day. The rest of the day, I did things to ensure that my day would turn out perfect.
What is a perfect day? It’s the kind of day you wake up to a sunny day with a cool breeze blowing and you don’t have a care in the world. Maybe you’re next to someone special or maybe you just had some very good news.
Whatever the circumstance, everything is falling into place. A day where there is an overall sense of tranquility. Although hardly will every day turn out perfect per say, but here are a few things you can do to get you closer to having a perfect day.
If you want a perfect day, you have to schedule in the factors that will enable you to achieve what you want. My perfect day would be no work and no obligations but that is not practical so back to reality.
Personally, I try to begin the day with reading my bible and prayer, breakfast and a good attitude. I may not always be consistent with doing this but I have noticed that when I take the time to do it, my days are so much better in terms of productivity and happiness.
The tendency to focus on the negative comes so easily to us, but a ‘perfect day’, comes when you consciously decide to start the day off on the right note.
Appreciation is a good way to start the day. Start by thinking of all the things in your life that are working. Just pondering on this puts you in a better frame of mind.
That leads me to my next point which is a positive attitude. I have come to see that a lot of the stress we experience is self-imposed.
What are you thinking about? As soon as you find yourself worrying, getting anxious, imagining a worst case scenario of a situation, or telling yourself negative things, stop.
When you approach unwelcome situations with a positive attitude, positive outcomes tend to occur. Even if you fail, you will get a chance to try again.
The next ingredient on my list is a healthy nutritious breakfast. Eating breakfast is one of the healthiest morning routines you can have.
It will help you jump start your metabolism, and give you the appropriate energy you need to get on with the day. After breakfast, don’t wait till late night before your next meal.
Eating irregularly or changing eating patterns can alter your mood and make you feel less happy. I don’t know about you but for me, hunger and productivity do not go hand in hand. Make sure your choice of food is healthy though.
Do you have a long ‘to do list’? Ask yourself this question? Do you have to do everything on the list? Are there some things that can wait? What about prioritising?
It’s amazing how simplifying can help you cut out a lot of stress. I have talked before about how I used to be a stickler to ‘my lists’.
Well, at the end of the day, I was exhausted. If you focus on the things that are more important and by important I mean the things that will have a major impact personally or career wise, you will feel more accomplished.
So, ingredient number three is, do less and focus on what’s more important. That makes any day a great day.
Since none of us live in seclusion, we will interact with others on a daily basis. Some will make your day better and others too will do things that can sour your day.
Don’t allow another person’s attitude, words or mood to affect you negatively. If you pay close attention to your emotions, you will discover that it is not often another person’s behaviour that creates your lack of peace or joy, but your own response. Be in charge of your mood.
Do you have to follow every step I have given? Not at all. These are merely suggestions. You can pick and choose and also find your own methods.
The main thing is to create a day that is wonderful and exactly to your liking.
Tomorrow is Saturday. I hope it turns out to be a day that is a bit less rigid in its expectations and full of more “want to”, than “have to”.
The writer is the author of The Seduction of Food
