Tough Day ?

Have you ever had a tough day? Maybe you are searching the web like I was a few years ago, at the bottom of pile of wasted dreams hopes and goals. You seem to be at the place where you feel if it were not for bad luck you would have no luck at all. I myself have been there. It was just a few short years ago that I was at the end of a week where I saw no hope, yet I kept thinking things could not get worse…as I watched them get worse and worse.

Today was that kind of day – where I sit and reflect on what I’ve accomplished, and end up calling it a wasted day. I feel hopeless, like I did not do anything to bring my dreams and hopes to fruition. Before you say, “Aw, poor Tim,” I will let you know that I still have a life that most people dream of having. But, like most people, I can also have a bad day.

We all have struggles we must face each day. There are things that get in our way, that keep us from pursuing our dreams and goals and it’s tempting to let that distract me to the point of feeling sorry for myself. But as I bring up the words again of the Rock Great Gene Simmons (I always have to give him credit for this), “Any day above ground is a good day.”

Now you may be wondering why this is today’s topic, after the previous blog about starting over. Look at all the things that would cause you to say “I’m having a bad day.” Now look at the entire picture of your life – all the things that have happened in the past. Do you still want to sit and say this was a bad day?

Last month in all of the talk of my dad’s great 70 years on this earth, my mom told many of the people who came to visit that Dad only had two bad days in his life. WOW! Two bad days in 70 years! When we look at the big picture how bad is what we are going through? I like to say life’s choices are like a staircase, each step you take is one step to move you up, or one step to move you down.

So think of how bad it was on your bad day, make the decision now that the next step will move you up, or take a step back and do it over.

If you are having a rough day, take a look at it and let’s put your life into a plan to change and make it better. Ask yourself the question: “What’s my next step?” Look back on the blogs and books I’ve written about how to work towards creating your ideal life. They will provide insight into what it is you need to be working on.

Life is always a changing thing, it never stays the same. And you have to make the changes one by one to get where you want to go. I also believe a goal is as much about the journey as the destination.

So after the last blog have you set your goals for 2011 yet? Are they written down? If not, don’t let another day go by without writing down a handful of goals you want to achieve this year. No matter what happens, keep working towards those goals and remember that no matter how bad a single day may be, you always work towards the goal. It took me three years of writing down one of my goals: “I will own two investment rental properties this year.” After three years, that goal finally happened in 2009.

Start to think of the idea I mentioned earlier: a staircase, better yet a spiral staircase. In your life, you will either spiral up or spiral down albeit often just a step at a time. What choices will you make today to help your life spiral up? What choices to you have to change because you’ve started spiraling down?  You hold the control of that part of your life so start thinking before you act and analyze how your past choices influenced where you are now. You can see where each choice takes you for better or worse, up or down the spiral stairs.

So, as you plan your week, remember that no matter how bad you think last week was, it’s all good. And if it isn’t where you want to be, you have the power to make the changes to make it better.

I’m Tim Gillette, the Rocker Life Coach. It’s time to live your dream, to love what you do and those you share life with. Get ready to be a RockStar in your world.