5 Ways To Make A Bleak Day Bright

“With freedom, books, flowers and the moon, who could not be happy?” – Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde’s quote is an ode to the simple things and the joy they can bring to your life. However, it’s not always easy. One morning you wake up and the world is bleak. Everything looks grim and the idea of getting out of bed and heading into the real world seems more like a joke.

It happens out of the blue, for no reason at all, and you’re living an entirely different story. You’re doubting yourself, questioning the motives of those closest to you and worst of all, it seems that everything you touch that morning falls apart – spilled my coffee, changed my shirt, spilled my coffee again.

Staying in bed and wallowing is so much easier than getting out of the house and facing reality. However, the longer you flounder in your grey morning, the longer the feeling lasts.

These are five ways to get yourself out of the huff you’re in:

1 | Get up 

Getting up is the hardest step of all and is a lot easier said than done. But once you’re out of bed and refreshed yourself, you will feel so much better in knowing that you’ve accomplished the toughest step. Give yourself some extra time to get ready and put on your favourite outfit, no matter how many times you’ve worn it.

2 | Treat yourself

Treating yourself is such an important aspect of stepping out of your black and white world into one full of blooming colours. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive, it could be buying your favourite drink or treat, or getting pampered if you have time. Do whatever makes you happy. It’s essential to love yourself and to treat yourself because you deserve it, whether you believe that or not.

3 | Do something

You’ve just treated yourself, now it’s time to treat someone else. It could be buying your boss a cup of coffee, or knowing that your friend is having just as bad a day as yours and finding a way to make it slightly better for them. It doesn’t take much to do something small for somebody, and once it’s done, witnessing the smile on their face, or hearing their ‘thank you’ will bring you such a feeling of elation you’ll forget you’re having a bad day.

4 | Pick it up

There are a lot of things that make each individual happy. So if you have a favourite book, poem, article, song, game… pick it up. Even for just half an hour. Read your favourite parts, listen to the part of the melody that tugs on your heart strings, play the part of the game you’ve been trying to conquer. On days like today it’s okay to have those couple of moments to yourself.

5 | Let it out

Everybody expresses themselves in different ways. Some via writing, others with music and some by talking. Regardless of how you voice yourself and your feelings, it’s important to find a way to verbalize the day you’ve had and to let it out. Funnily enough, after expressing yourself, you will find that you’re grateful for the day you had; happy that you woke up one way and purposefully changed the mood you were in. Most of all you’ll be proud because pulling yourself out of that stupor isn’t easy, but you did it.

Life is a challenge at times and some mornings are worse than others, but it’s the little things, such as your favourite outfit or treat, or helping others in need that brings joy to even the dullest of days.

How do you brighten the day? We’d love to know be