The misery of this morning was very near unparalleled. Last night was unexpectedly stressful. I ate poorly yesterday. And I woke up to heavy air that had me tripping over my asthma as soon as I stepped out of bed. For the first couple hours, I wanted a do over. All sorts of negative self talk was flying around my head. My therapist is out of town. And I'm tired. I just want to be left alone so I can rest. That is not going to happen. So, instead of wallowing in misery, I did these three things to turn my day around:
1. I kept my commitments.
It is hard to show up when the blankets beckon. Even though I felt like garbage, I got my kids to camp early so they could mingle with peers. Walked them in. Went home to retrieve my forgotten phone and still made it to the gym for my workout. I rolled in with just enough time to join the warmup (where I immediately had an asthma attack and could only find my expired inhaler).
2. I adjusted my expectations.
Asthma can be unpredictable, so I took that into account and scaled down the weights I was using in my workout. I didn't want to. I am so ready to move up to that next level. But I listened to my body. I really felt like trash, so I gave myself permission to slow down or scale even further down if I needed to. I didn't. The workout was hard, and because I had lowered my expectations, the endorphin rush of finishing came with an endorphin rush for performing beyond my goals.
3. I held myself accountable.
There is so much in life I can't control, but I knew a big part of my misery was the way I ate yesterday. So I got out my scale to weigh and track my meals today. I drank more water. I drank less coffee. While I am fatigued and ready for a nap, I am already feeling considerably better than just an hour ago.
These three simple acts flipped my thinking from "I can't" to "I can." They helped me reset to a positive frame of mind, basically giving me that do over I wanted. I hope these tips support you. Now it's time for that nap!
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