Money Saving Mom®

I woke up this morning knowing something was really wrong.

One of my eyes seemed all cloudy and blurry.

I rubbed it. I washed my face. I tried going downstairs to see if a change of scenery would help.

I tried blinking multiple times. I waited ten minutes thinking maybe I just needed to wake up more or something.

Nothing. It was still all blurry and cloudy.

I started getting concerned… thinking through everything I’d done the day before, everything I’d eaten, how I’d slept.

Finally, I told Jesse that something was wrong with my eyesight. I confessed I was even worried I was going to slowly lose my eyesight (I know, I know, I’m a total worst case scenario person!)

And then it hit me: had I taken out both contacts last night? I was sure I had, but just to rule out every possibility, I stuck my finger in the eye that wasn’t blurry and starting swiping it to see if my contact was still there.

Um, yup. It totally was.

So instead of losing my eyesight, I appear to be losing my brain… because I somehow managed to only take out one contact last night before bed. Don’t ask me how, but I guess it’s better than accidentally showing up to some event and forgetting to get dressed (I have dreams that I do this all. the. time.)

I felt pretty dumb at this point. I mean, here I was running through all these scenarios of losing my eyesight and the problem was incredibly simple: I had a contact in one eye and didn’t have a contact in the other eye. This threw my vision out of whack and made one eye seem very, very blurry.

As I went about my morning, I not only felt relieved, but I also began thinking about how a change of perspective can change everything. Sometimes, it’s not exactly what meets the eye (pun fully intended).

For instance, not too long ago, I got a comment from a reader who was very upset that I had posted a picture of a Starbucks cup. She was upset that I’d spend so much money buying coffee when it’s so much cheaper to make it yourself. She went so far as to say she wasn’t sure if she could keep reading my blog because it seemed hypocritical for me to blog about frugal living and drink Starbucks at the same time.

While I completely understand that a picture of a Starbucks drink on MoneySavingMom.com might seem like a contradiction, it’s not always what it seems at first glance. In the case of the Starbucks cup, it was a coffee I’d bought at the airport, because you can’t bring homemade coffee through security (I wish!).

In addition, it was only plain coffee, not some fancy drink (coffee is actually one of the cheapest drinks you can buy at the airport). Plus, in this instance, the conference I was traveling to speak at, had given me a generous food allowance for everyday and was reimbursing me for all food expenses. And not only that, but I actually used a Starbucks gift card I’d earned from Swagbucks  to pay for my coffee.

So you see, it’s not always what meets the eye. A change of perspective can make a big difference.

Now, I don’t say all of this because I feel the need to defend myself for occasionally drinking Starbucks coffee. I share this because it was a good lesson for me: I can be quick to jump to conclusions or judge based upon the appearance of what something seems when I don’t know all of the facts.

In the future, I want to remember that it’s not always what it seems. Before I criticize someone or get frustrated or worked up over something, I want to first make sure I know all the facts.

Because sometimes, I just need to change my perspective. Well, and make sure that I actually take both of my contacts out, too. 🙂

photo credit

Tuesday was one of those days.

You know the kind… where it feels like you wake up behind, you feel frustrated, there are countless interruptions, and the more the day goes on, the worse it gets.

By the grace of God, I didn’t fly off the handle at anyone, but I certainly felt like it could happen at any moment. I was anxious, unsettled, and just plain irritable.

The house was messy, the kids were needy, I got some discouraging feedback on a project I’d put a lot of effort into, and I never made it out of my PJ’s.

Late afternoon, I had a conference call with my managers about a contract we’re negotiating. Since they are like family, when they started the conversation asking me how I was, they got the honest answer.

“Well, I’ve not showered today. I’m still in my pajamas. And I basically feel like I’m failing at everything in life… I’m a failure as a wife, as a mom, as a friend, and as a businesswoman.”

Overly dramatic and almost entirely unfounded, I know, but that’s just how I was feeling that day.

I want to be honest in my relationships instead of sucking in my feelings and pretending everything’s okay. Plus, confiding in true friends and letting them pray for you and encourage you can often be the best remedy when you’re having a tough day.

After we got off the phone call, instead of wasting more time and making my day even worse by beating myself up over having a bad day, I decided to assess what went wrong so I could help prevent the rest of the week from going downhill, too.

As I analyzed my day, I realized there were six key things that were major contributing factors to my bad day. And I thought I’d list them as a reminder to me (and anyone else) for the future.

So here are six ways to guarantee you’ll have a bad day:

1) Don’t Get Enough Sleep the Night Before

I stayed up way too late the night before… and it wasn’t because I was working on some world-changing project. Nope, I was mindlessly browsing the internet. I know, sooo noble and worth losing precious sleep over.

2) Don’t Have a Plan for the Day

I woke up late and tired. Without a plan. And just let life hit me as it came.

Eventually, I got around to writing out a to-do list for the day. But by that time, I was so behind it was just more discouraging than it was helpful.

3) Don’t Shower or Dressed

Yup. It’s true. I was still in my PJ’s at 5 p.m. and I finally just gave up hope of changing out of them.

So I felt gross and messy and unkempt all day… which totally makes you feel cheerful and excited about life. Or not.

4) Don’t Stay Focused

Some interruptions came my way and I let them suck way too much time and energy from me. Instead of waiting to answer that non-urgent email and phone call until I had a time block to deal with it, I let the inbox and phone control my morning — which is always a recipe for my day getting out of whack.

And it was a recipe for complete chaos and frustration when my day was already off to such a poor start.

5) Don’t Count Your Blessings

I spent too much time fretting over a negative comment someone made and let that frustrate and irritate me until I couldn’t see any of the blessings of my day. Which then, in turn, only made the day seem clouded over with more frustration.

6) Do Beat Yourself Up for All the Ways You’re Failing

This final point is KEY for having a bad day. Take a lot of time to mull over everything single last thing you’re doing wrong and every area of your life that needs improvement. It will seal the deal for you and your bad day.

So there you have it! Six guaranteed ways to have a bad day. Did I miss any points? If so, let us know in the comments.

And do yourself and your family a favor: don’t try this six-step plan at home.