How to Board the Upward Spiral Express

We all have bad days. You set your alarm from 6pm instead of 6am by mistake, youre in such a rush you skip breakfast, all your favourite clothes are in the laundry basket so you have to wear a shirt that is in equal parts uncomfortable and unflattering and then to top it all off you leave your reading glasses at home setting you up for a cracker of a headache by midday.

And just like that, the downwards spiral has began. Its similar to getting up on the wrong side of the bed. One or two small things go wrong in the morning and the next thing you know the whole day is written off. Its not a coincidence though is it? Its more like a chain reaction. When we start our day on the back foot it is hard to catch up and far too easy to fall further and further behind. Its a chain reaction where the occurrence of one negative event makes future negative events more likely to occur as a result.

Downward spiral days are one thing but quite often they can become downward spiral weeks, months or even years. Let that sink in. A prolonged period of feeling like nothing has been going your way? One negative after another? Some people might call that Depression.

This is all quite gloomy. So lets flip it on its head. Let me introduce to you: The Upward Spiral. Its logical enough. One or two good things happen to you and your day is set. You feel good, great even. You find things just fall into place and your day goes swimmingly. Breezier than picnic in spring. All because you got to the bus stop thirty seconds before your bus did.

This may all sound like fate. The uncontrollable triggering of events that we may only bear witness too like helpless toddlers. But this is just not the case. I find that if I can get a few positives in early on (even if they are hard work), then my day is set. I am happy and grateful for whats happened. I send out good vibes and without sounding too much like a cult preacher, they get reflected back to me double the strength.

So whether you want to turn a bad day around, or just have a great one. Give it a go. Work hard to get on that upward spiral track then enjoy the ride. You might find that disconnecting from the negative to make space for a single small little positive is all you really needed to get the wheels rolling after all.