When You Have One of Those Days...

It hadn't been a good day. One of those days when it seemed anything that could go wrong did go wrong. A couple of daft errors at work. You know the sort, silly wee oversights which can be fixed but can prey on your mind for the rest of the day,

Then the computer chose to freeze on me - just as I was in the middle of a major piece of work. Naturally, I hadn't saved what I had done when I had to switch the machine off and turn it on again. For some reason, the words I typed on the screen all seemed to be gobbledygook  - typos ruled the roost.

Frustrated, I left the office for a break at lunchtime and a brief walk to clear my mind. And it started to rain. More frustration as I aborted my walk and headed back to the office - only to find the lift was broken. And I work on the seventh floor...

At the end of the day, when I left the office, mentally exhausted after a trying day, I had to fight for a seat on a packed bus. Sitting next to a loud young man who was having a loud conversation with his pal - two seats behind him.

As the bus snaked its way through the city there were roadworks everywhere. It seemed to take an eternity to get home. Tired and irritated, I opted for a fish supper on the way home to save having to make an effort to cook - only to find the chip shop was closed for refurbishment.

We all have days like those so it's just not me. However, I sat down eventually that evening and thought about all the things that had gone wrong that day. I closed my eyes and visualised these things scattered over a field, like fences for a showjumping horse to overcome. In the corner of a field was a hot-air balloon. In my mind, I wondered over to the balloon and climbed inside before letting it go.

As the balloon rose slowly into the sky, I looked down on all the day's problems scattered across the field. As the balloon rose higher and higher, those problems became smaller and smaller, to the extent they were no longer affecting me the way they had earlier in the day. They were now becoming insignificant, things no longer bothering me.

After you have a difficult day, where would your balloon be?

Don't Let Life Get On Top Of You...

And remember, true friendship isn't about being there only when it's convenient....

Do You Find Life a Constant Struggle?

Do you think of your life as a constant struggle? Do you sometimes feel you simply can't cope with all the problems you have to contend with? Problems at work, problems with a relationship, financial problems? A feeling that you are just overwhelmed with what life is throwing at you and you fear what is going to happen next...?

Think about your problems for a moment. Write them down on pieces of paper. All of them. You are looking at them in black and white now. 

Now crumple up those pieces of paper. All of them. 

Now imagine you are putting each piece of crumpled up paper into a helium-filled balloon. One balloon for each piece of paper, each problem, each stressful thought. 

You may have several balloons or you may just have a handful - or even just one. You're hanging on tightly to these balloons. But now is the time to let go.

Release these balloons and let them float away....float away into the distance, carrying your problems and worries with them....

Let your mind be at peace. At peace in the knowledge that you can cope with anything that life throws at you. We all have setbacks but you have the capability and the power to overcome setbacks and not let problems dominate your life.

Remember that everything good that happens to you, happens not as a result of someone else, or something else. It all happens because of you. You have the strength. You have the confidence. You have the capability to make life better. And you are already making it happen....

Count

Thought for Today

Life is Tough...

That Monday Morning Feeling