I've had a lot of bad days in my life. In the pandemic I still do. As a child, I used to consciously wish my life was different, easier. Unconsciously, I had no clue what any of it meant.

Every day I hoped that whatever my physical, mental, and emotional struggles were, they would get easier. But that’s not life and it doesn’t exist. We all have bad days and we have to work through those. Bad days can teach us about perseverance, about patience, if we allow ourselves time.

We all have emotional pain

I wouldn’t want others to feel the emotional pain I’ve felt, but without it, we may never know what that feels like until we have experienced it. We may all feel emotional pain at some time or another, and it is through those times that our struggles, can shine a mirror on our strengths.

With new days, there is always hope

We learn that when we stop trying to manipulate or control our life, or other people’s, our life can fall into place. We will always have our ups and downs and that’s life too, but we also know with a little courage, we will be okay. Not every day is going to work out, but with each day, it renews and that gives us hope. But we shouldn’t beat ourselves up or give up on hope.

Shifting our perspective

Instead, I shift my perspective to see what’s on the other side. We need to believe we can come through our hardest moments, those bad days. Things happen for a reason, sometimes that reason isn’t always known to us. It comes later.

Perfect doesn’t mean perfect because nothing in life can be perfect. But my bad days do help me shift my priorities, they help me to see the value in the little things, they remind me I shouldn’t take anything for granted and that life isn’t in fact perfect; it's just how I choose to see it.

With reflection, my bad days help me to emotionally heal. It is my teacher and it helps give me strength.