Well That Sucked

Do you ever end the day and say “well that sucked”?

It starts out perfect

You so intricately planned the day. You had your three perfect wins picked out. You felt motivated and hit the ground running.

Things start to go south

Then things began to unraveled, as you got a surprise last minute invite to a morning meeting when you planned to work on a presentation for your boss’s boss. In a different meeting, you found out something you had put on the back-burner was suddenly urgent. Then your boss slacked you for status on another task, one that you didn’t even have on your radar.

You’re swimming in shit

You’re suddenly feeling overwhelmed and cursing yourself for being such a failure. You waste 30 minutes spinning and the tears begin to fall. Eventually you pick yourself up, get a few things accomplished, and end the day with a positive talk with you boss. Then you realized you missed your call with your coach and show up with 4 minute left in the session.

That was my day today, and it was a rough one…or was it?

The Reframe

I’ve been working on finding out how things are working for me. So I ask myself, what was the good that came from this? How can I use this for something good, a learning experience?

• I can admit that I was aware my boss and I might not be aligned with my priorities, but kept trudging ahead anyway without connecting on the topic. This all happened to spur the conversation that will have us more aligned now and in the future.

• I also learned that I need a better way to remind me of a coaching call so I don’t miss one again.

• Finally I recognize the value I got from and gave to the meeting which will set me up in the future as well.

The end

Boom! It really didn’t suck after all. And maybe I can recognize it earlier next time and save the spinning and crying too.

Next time you’re “having a sucky day”, challenge yourself to find one positive takeaway and see how that reframe can change your outlook.