Contributed by Irene Watson, MA

When I have a bad day, I find that one of the best ways to cheer myself up and put things in perspective is simply to see if the good that day has outweighed the bad. I have found that in reviewing the day’s events, I can easily find that as many good as bad things happened, and most of the time, the good far outweighs the bad. What I thought was a bad day actually was a good one after all. I suggest making a bad and good list to see what kind of day it really was. Make your bad list first to get it out of the way. Then the good list will make you feel better.

Bad Things:

1. I got to work late.
2. At lunch, the restaurant messed up my order.
3. My boss was in a bad mood.
4. While doing the supper dishes, I broke a glass.
5. My favorite TV show wasn’t on.

Good Things:

1. I really enjoyed the new cereal I had for breakfast.
2. My coffee tasted extremely good today.
3. Everyone at the office complimented me on the new outfit I wore.
4. I got asked to go to a party Friday night that I’m really looking forward to.
5. A friend I haven’t heard from in months sent me an email.
6. My family liked the new recipe I tried tonight.
7. I took time to go for a walk with my spouse after supper.
8. I really enjoyed what a nice sunny evening it was.
9. Since my favorite show wasn’t on TV, I took time to catch up on paying bills, which made me feel less overwhelmed.
10. I even had a few minutes left over to read a book I really enjoyed.
11. When I put my son to bed, he told me that he loved me.

That looks like a good day to me. Not only would I be grateful for it, but I would feel satisfied.

Sometimes the bad things may be huge, and the good things small, but if we look for the good things, they almost always outweigh the bad. I’ve found that by making a good and a bad list each day, ultimately, the bad list has so few things on it that after a while, I quit bothering with it, and just focus on my good list, which often grows to 20-30 items in a day.

Reviewing the day can make us put everything into perspective, and ultimately, come out grateful for what we have. Good days add up to a good life.

Irene Watson, MA,  is author of The Sitting Swing: Finding Wisdom to Know the Difference, and co-editor of The Story that Must Be Told: True Tales of Transformation, and Authors Access: 30 Success Secrets for Authors and Publishers. She is a workshop leader, managing editor of Reader Views, and president of a non-profit Higher Power Foundation. Irene lives next to Barton Creek in Austin, TX, with her husband Robert.