"I know that you're sad, so I won't tell you 'have a good day.' Instead, I advise you to simply 'have a day.' Stay alive, feed yourself well, wear comfortable clothes, and don't give up on yourself just yet. It'll be better soon. Until then, have a day." -Unknown “Have a great day!”
This well-meaning comment slips from the mouths of many each day with innocence (Including my own on occassion). Many times those hearing the words are delighted and grateful. After all, encouraging someone to have a good day, what is the harm in that? Honestly, there is no harm. Now, you may be confused to where this is headed, and I don't blame you. However, allow me to tell you. First of all, this post is not meant to condemn those who say, “Have a great day.” On the other hand, it is not intended to make you start saying, "Have a bad day." This post is simply to encourage you to think. Earlier this spring, I found a quote that read, “I know you’re sad, so I won’t tell you ‘have a good day.’ Instead, I advise you to simply, ‘have a day.’ Stay alive, feed yourself well, wear comfortable clothes, and don’t give up on yourself just yet. It’ll be better soon. Until then, have a day.” For the next few weeks, the idea of encouraging someone to have a day would not leave my head. Finally, it felt like someone understood what living with different mental illnesses felt like. Living with depression, days are at times long and may leave you feeling worn out. Living with anxiety, any happy days are often filled with uncontrollable worry that something is going to go wrong and bad days having you feeling like a disappointment. You see, sometimes hearing the words, "Have a good day," is like having a soccer ball drop kicked into your face from five feet away. In the back of our minds, we know the person meant well, but anxiety tells us that we are a letdown for not having a good day. Depression joins in to put us back into a cycle of constantly not feeling good enough. So those well-meaning words have turned into something much more complicated than they were ever meant to be. Personally, I’ve started to find myself encouraging people to simply “Have a day,” more than I find myself telling them to “Have a good day.” Some may call me insensitive, but let them say that. When I encourage someone to “Have a day,” I actually become more sensitive to their feelings than when I tell them to “Have a good day.” By telling someone to “Have a day,” you allow room for them to embrace their feelings exactly as they are on that day. Personally, when people tell me to “Have a good day,” I ignore the word “good.” Some days are not good, and that is okay. By learning to reframe this common saying, I've noticed that my mood has improved. No longer do I feel like the grip depression has had on me for so long controls me and keeps me from having a good day. My anxiety is not as high as it used to be on my good days and doesn’t leave me feeling like a disappointment when I’m having a bad day. My hope is that I’ve given you a glimpse of how a slight variation in wording can change someone’s mood. It may seem strange at first, but say it to yourself for a few days. See if your mood changes in a positive way. For now, have a day.
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AuthorHello everyone, I'm Bri! Here you can find me writing about life in order to help provide you with encouragement and hope. Want to find out more about me? Go visit my "About Me" page! Happy reading! Archives
April 2017
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