In one of my first training classes at Keller Williams, the instructor talked about how she handled “bad days.” Our entire livelihood as realtors revolves around interacting with people. Calling people. Talking to people. Visiting with people. You see where this is going, right?

So, when you have one of those funky days where you don’t feel on your game, working to generate new business is really a waste of time. This particular instructor said that when she notices that she’s slipped into a bit of a funk, she leaves the office and goes to watch a funny movie at the theater by herself. I’ve held on to this random comment for a while now, because we all know that when those sort of days come our way, we don’t actually accomplish anything. I, however, have always forced myself to “push through” and continue working…even if all I want to do is to go home and put on pajamas. Her approach, however, seemed so much more productive. Rather than wallowing and not accomplishing anything all day, she does something to bring her mood back up so she creates at least a few productive hours. Genius!

So, I had one of those days a while back. The morning started out ok but the day went south pretty quickly. In addition to being extremely tired, I was having trouble focusing or wrapping my head around things. Everything started to annoy me…I spilled my entire drink in the parking lot at work, and then I emptied a big box of band aids on the floor. I decide today was the perfect day to give my friend’s method a shot.

I didn’t go to a movie, but I did leave my office and run a few errands I had been putting off. There’s no better time to go get those necessities from Sam’s like the day you don’t feel like being at the office. Rather than using a movie as a pick-me-up, I choose to do a little shopping! I had some Bucks Back to use at Old Navy, so I took a bit to roam around and search for something to perk me up. Then, I ran by Hobby Lobby and grabbed some new paints for a project I’d been dreaming up. What better way to motivate yourself than to plan out projects that you’ve been looking forward to?

Of course, during this afternoon extravaganza, I still worked (My phone rings constantly.), but I was much more productive running errands than I would have been sitting in my office, wallowing in my weird mood. So, next time you find yourself slipping into a little funk, take an hour or so to do something you enjoy…something that is guaranteed to brighten your mood. Then, see if you’re able to come back to your task with a fresh outlook after taking a little breather. More than likely, you’ll have a productive rest of the day rather than wasting an entire day unsuccessfully pulling yourself from a funk.

Let me know if this strategy works for you! I think I’m a new believer. What sort of things do you do to motivate yourself or turn a bad day around? I’m always open to new suggestions!

Last week, I was laying in bed, reading through blog posts on my bloglovin’ reader. I had just read Elise’s post about things she’d tell her 22 year old self, when I realized that one of my blog posts that was supposed to post the following week, actually posted that day. Before we continue, here a few things that you need to know in order for this story to make sense. 

1. I noticed that the post had gone live because it showed up in my reader. I haven’t shared the details yet or promoted it, but you can use bloglovin’ to keep up with my blog posts. If you use it (or if you’d like an easy way to keep up with your favorite blogs), please follow me there!  

2. Even though it may appear easy, blogging is actually quite a bit of work. It takes several hours just to make one post happen. For the past couple of months, my assistant (who is fabulous by the way) has been helping me make sure my posts actually happen. I write the content, take photos, plan out the links/format, and then she sets up the post on WordPress and schedules it to publish.  Most of the time, getting the post ready to share with the world takes much longer than the actually writing. Having Taylor’s help with this, has been a tremendous help in making sure I post regularly.  

When I saw that the post had gone live before I meant for it to, I cringed. After all, the post wasn’t finished. Before this discovery, I had spent a little time thinking about my 22 year old self. My 22 year old self would have panicked. I would have immediately called Taylor and had her take the post down. I would have told her to be more careful and I would have made sure that never happened again. Not only would my 22 year old self have reacted this way, I think my 26 year old self would have too. 

My 28 year old self emailed Taylor to let her know the post went live accidentally and what we could do to watch for that sort of thing next time. I ended the email with, “Btw…this isn’t a big deal and I’m totally not upset about it. Just wanted to point it out for next time. Love you!” 

After hitting send, I realized that my 28 year old response to this little issue was much different than my 22 year old response would have been. I certainly want us to pay close attention to details like this, but I knew this wasn’t a tragic event. The post would be just fine without adding the extra photos I was waiting on.

As I thought about the significance of this small event, I realized that we are constantly changing and growing into the type of people we want to become. I feel like the past two years have been simply monumental in my personal growth, a fact that I’ve really struggled to put into words. This short, little email in itself shows one of the larger changes I’ve experienced personally. While I still pay very close attention to detail, I understand that the details aren’t always that important. I also have to give people room for error. There’s not a perfect person in this world and those imperfections are often what makes life so fantastic. 

I think the moral of this seemingly pointless story is to realize (and celebrate) how ever-changing life is. As each day passes, we have the opportunity to grow into better and better versions of ourselves. With each new experience, we learn something new. We should take that knowledge and use it to become the best we can be. Even at the young age of 28, I can see how very much I’ve grown already. I love the person I am today compared to who I was at 22, and I’m certain that I’ll love 38 even more than 28. One of these days I’ll be able to wrap my head around some of the life-changing realizations I’ve had lately. For now, I’ll just celebrate this one small example. 

If you’d like some more inspirational reading, I had also just read this post that mentions not waiting for perfection. It seems like my Bloglovin’ feed was preparing me for that night’s discovery!

On another note, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who follows along here. Sometimes this place is filled with adventures from my life and decorating ideas. Other times it’s more of ramblings about the things swirling in my head. Either way, it means the world to me that you come and read. I love you all!