Have you ever had a bad day? Of course you have. We all have them on occasion. I had one the other day. But it was a combination of little frustrating things that just made the whole day miserable.

A few of my friends had bad days, too, that same week. Some of theirs were caused by a bit more serious reasons. Nothing life threatening, but nevertheless situations that weren’t exactly pleasant to be in.

My situation was temporary. Theirs, well, not quite so temporary, but nothing that can’t be fixed with a little time.

Other people have bad days because of serious life events. Events that cause changes that really aren’t fixable, and will eventually result in major life changes. In the overall scheme of life, now THAT is a bad, bad day.

But one thing defines the aftermath from these bad days. Attitude. How we look at our situation. How long we’re going to allow ourselves to stay miserable before we start planning how to handle the situation which caused our bad day.

It all depends on our outlook.

Now I’m not saying you can get over a devastating life event overnight. The loss of a loved one, a serious medical diagnosis, a sudden job loss which also threatens the loss of your home…these and similar events take time to process and time to recover from. But at the same time you have no choice but to make immediate plans for how you’re going to survive. You have no choice but to go into survival mode.

I know it’s not easy when you have a bad day. And it’s not always easy to recover from it. It may take days, weeks…sometimes longer. But with a positive attitude, it’s a bit easier. We may not be able to change the circumstances that caused the bad day. But we can choose how we react to that bad day and what we do to make the next day better. Not perfect; not repaired; just better than the day before.

After all, each day represents a new beginning. It’s a day you’ve not seen before, and never will see again. That day is unique, a blank canvas for you to paint your new day on. Even those of us who have no artistic talent have the opportunity to paint each new day in our own unique image.

Moving forward in difficult circumstances is extremely hard. But the only way to survive is to move ahead. Put one foot in front of the other, and take a step out of those circumstances and into that new day. Find something, even if it’s one little thing, to be grateful for. One little thing that’s positive. One thing that you can honestly say was put there just for you. Even if it’s just a kind word from a stranger. A warm sunny day that you didn’t expect. A butterfly appearing out of nowhere and landing on a flower near you. Little reminders that you’re still important.

You are still the person you were before your bad day happened. You are still loved, although right now you may need an extra hug or two. You are still strong, but you may need a friend to help hold you up for a little while today, or the next few days. You are still important to so many people, and those people are ready to support you, stand with you, and walk you through the remnants of your bad day, to help you get back to the other side.

Bad days happen to all of us. But good days follow. Bad days do evolve into good days. Those new good days may look different, feel different, than the good days looked before the bad day happened, but they’re there. They’re what you make of them.

You can either choose to let your bad day ruin your week, your month, or even your year. Or you can choose to rise above it, and show that bad day that it won’t get the best of you. And you will come out the winner.

It may take a few days, or a few weeks, but with the right attitude, the right frame of mind, that bad day will be so far behind you, eventually you’ll look back and realize that bad day was only a prelude to the new things to come.

So what is your new day going to look like?