Ever Had a Bad Day? – Bill Drury

Somebody sent me a funny article the other day… it started with the title: “You know it’s going to be a bad day when.”

You know it’s going to be a bad day when…

You wake up in the morning, and your waterbed sprung a leak during the night… but you don’t have a waterbed!
You turn on the morning news, and they are showing emergency routes out of the city.
You put your pants on backward, and they fit better.
You’re driving to work, and your horn gets stuck behind a group of Hell’s Angels.

Those are funny! But we all have our bad days as leaders. Tough days. Down days. Discouraging news. Perplexing events. How we respond is a test of our leadership character and capacity.

Growing up in a home where my dad was physically disabled and a very difficult person to live with, I’m so appreciative that my mom was a great leadership model of how to respond when you’re having a tough day.

She taught me 4 principles I have remembered for the rest of my life:

Refuse to give in to self-pity. Self-pity is a black hole that sucks us down in life. Do you know what I’m talking about? It’s the woe-is-me attitude. It’s characterized by grumbling, griping, and complaining. Self-pity leads to blame… we begin to point the finger. Blame leads to bitterness. Bitterness is rat poison of the soul…it’s like eating rat poison and hoping the rat will die.
Take immediate and constructive action. The British used to say, “Stay calm and carry on.” Action is sometimes a great tonic to depression. From early in the morning till late at night, my mom modeled faithful responsibility to do the next thing that needed to be done to keep our family afloat.
Reach out to a helping hand to someone else. I would some days watch my mom take a meal to a family across the street even though she was dealing with her own heartbreak.
Stay grateful and thankful. Thankfulness reboots our minds. I hope your gratitude list is much longer than your adversity list.

I am amazed to remember that my Mom refused to be a victim in life. I would be riding to the store with her and she would say, “Let’s sing a song.” She was characterized by a positive, helpful, and joyful attitude… despite very difficult circumstances.