Striving for daily emotional stability does take a real effort

Achieving emotional stability is something that most of us strive for in our lives. We are continuously seeking new ways to find peace and harmony in a hectic world. For those who struggle with emotional stability, even one bad day can often disrupt life’s balance.

Consider the following:

• The college freshman sleeps through her alarm and is running late to class. As she rushes out the door she realizes she cannot find her car keys. After a frantic search that leaves her apartment in shambles, she finds her keys and rushes to class. As she quietly takes her seat in the back of the auditorium, she, she discovers that she has forgotten her notes for the open book quiz. As if her morning cannot get any worse, the looks down to find a noticeable stain on the front of her t-shirt. She slumps in her seat feeling that a dark cloud has descended and she feels only impending doom as she thinks about the day ahead of her.

• Downtown, the businessman is struggling with his day. Prior to leaving for work, he finds his morning paper soaking wet from an early morning rainstorm. Speeding on his way to the office, he is pulled over and receives a hefty ticket. He arrives to work only to find out that his schedule is booked until late afternoon and he now will be unable to attend his daughter’s first soccer game. At this moment he feels like buying a one way ticket to some foreign land never to be seen or heard from again.

Everyone is entitled to, and more importantly, should realistically expect to face life’s ordinary ups and downs. Some days are simply better than others. A flat tire, a broken shoelace, and a migraine-these things happen!

On these days we need to remember that there are also days when the world is a wonderful place and it seems that we can do no wrong. It is important to remember that a bad day does not indicate that there are many more bad days to follow.

Also, beware of a mindset that dictates to us that one or two bad experiences at the beginning of the day are a prediction that the whole day is going to be bad. Self-fulfilling prophecies often occur in this fashion but can be avoided with healthier thinking.

Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2002