The Recipe for a Great Day

Happiness is the most sought-after thing in the world. The search for happiness drives people to do crazy things — from quitting their jobs spontaneously to travel, to giving up all inhibitions to profess love, to self-medication in all forms. Is something so commonly is desired by people in all walks of life, how is it that we haven’t gotten happiness down to a science?

Even people who seem to always be happy don’t view having great days as something within their control, a lot of the time. They chock up their good or bad days to what HAPPENS to them that day, rather than how they responded to what life threw their way. And that’s really the only guarantee — that life will continue to throw shit your way, no matter what you do.

You’re not in control. You don’t even have a semblance of control. No one even thinks you do, except for you, with your preconceived notions that “you’re the boss”. You walk around your office, bouncing from problem-to-problem, and putting out fires as quickly as you can, sometimes not quite fast enough.

You’re not the boss. You just react to the stimuli you encounter on a minute-by-minute basis. Your boss yells at you? You yell at your girlfriend. You wake up with a sore back? You complain to your roommate.

As if it weren’t spelled out clearly enough above, the only way you will have consistently happy, amazing days is by getting in control of the factors of your life you are able to influence.

Your responses to “shit” days — a term defined by lesser people than you — are everything.

Here’s a few tips I’ve picked up through practice, and habits I’ve subconsciously been doing for quite some time, which I contribute to my “no bad days” mantra I’ve lived by for quite some time.

It’s about time you stopped denying it: Karen from accounting puts a damper on your mood every time you have a meeting with her. Whether it’s that patronizing tone she speaks in, or the way she tends to shift responsibilities onto you because she’s more “senior”… you don’t know. But she makes your blood boil.

Stop going into your day BLIND and DUMB. Situations are going to arise that would make a weaker person have a “bad” day. Suck it up. Prepare beforehand. Go out there and take NO shit from anyone.

Listen, the sooner you realize that we’re all selfish bastards, the happier you will be. Everyone loves to give the impression that they are loving and care for others, and many people do. But when it comes down to it, everyone is looking out for themselves. Conflict isn’t personal. It’s merely the by-product of people, who are more assertive than you, taking what they want.

When you wake up in the morning, I’d imagine your inclination is to say “oh hell no, not again”… if you’re anything like I once was, and soon thereafter succumb to dreading the day. It’s way too easy to get into a bad habit like this, when work or school oftentimes feels like a forced activity. The reality of it is, you chose to accept your job. You chose to go to school. And any other thing you do for income? You chose to do it, assuming you are living in a free country.

Everyone reading this article right now is more than equipped to choose their lives. You have the internet, for God’s sake. An endless amount of knowledge at your disposal, and opportunity to choose really any career, given the amount of work you’re willing to put in.

When you wake up in the morning and immediately frame it with a negative response like that, you can’t expect anything less than negative responses to other minor inconveniences throughout your day.

Imagine you’re painting a beautiful landscape. Every painter has a set amount of space they work in. Like this, you need to set the frame you’re working in. If you don’t…you’ll let other things establish the frame of mind you’re in, and you will no longer be in control.

So, you’re woken up and managed not to fight the alarm clock, and the day is off to a good start. What’s next?

If your next thought is, “I’m late”, then you’re already off to a bad start. Waking up with stress is a guaranteed step in ensuring you have a sub-par day. You need to make sure to give yourself both adequate sleep and more than enough time to get prepared for the day.

“More than enough time” is an important phrase, here. I tend to have no problem with time, since I haven’t had breakfast during the week for the better part of 5 years, and cooking breakfast tends to take the most time for me. If you struggle to have time to relax in the morning, you probably need to go to bed earlier. (Or maybe, after you shower: try not sitting on the edge of your bed in your towel, staring at the wall for an hour like I love to do).

The choices you make in the next few minutes, and the coming hour before you head to work, will determine just what kind of day you’ll have.

I’ve found that this time early in the morning is imperative to stoking your creativity. If you’re curious, here’s my routine:

They say it takes 60 days to build a habit. You have 2 kinds of habits, in my opinion: ones that restrict bad behavior, and ones that promote good behavior. If you’ve ever tried to kick a nicotine addiction or tried to quit biting your nails, you know just how excruciating it is to restrict yourself.

It is FAR easier to pick up a habit that promotes something positive! If you take the time to read in the mornings, you’ll quickly reap the benefits. You’ll find, as I have, that you’re more articulate, intelligent, interesting, and self-aware when you have a reading habit.

On the other hand, you know plenty of people that don’t, and you’re probably thinking of one now. What do they spend their time talking about? Either entertainment (like the latest football game or episode of their favorite TV show) or gossip about other people (YAWN). But you’re different. You’ve read this article, so that means you’re hungry to better yourself, and that already puts you far ahead of your peers — cheers!

Related posts:

Stress is a short word that can cause huge problems. I was never a stressed person, actually I used be a relaxed one, but nowadays I have faced an intense work routine and it has caused a big stress…

Go to my youtube channel. “Ap ke lie to ham han” is published by Muhammad Zaid Ali.

We at MangoHomz unequivocally trust the old Indian viewpoint that everybody ought to be solid and blissful. Nobody ought to have issues. We are filling the monster opening of the Clinical Versatility…