What to do when your day goes sideways …

One glance at a car skidding sideways and you immediately know that vehicle is not operating the way it should!

The same can happen to your days.

You wake up, start your day, and then something happens that makes your day go “sideways” — to not turn out the way you planned, expected, or hoped.

I had a day like that just this week.

It was a gray, gloomy morning and, before I even had a chance to get my day started, it went sideways with the receipt of an email containing a problematic issue that would require immediate attention. Before I could even begin sorting my thoughts about that, two more unexpected, not-so-positive issues stacked up on top of that first email.

My entire morning went sideways!

It happens to all of us. No one can control life so that nothing unplanned or unexpected doesn’t come piercing through your perfectly made plans for your day. Sooner or later, you’ll have a day that goes sideways on you.

Many people panic, most immediately feel stressed, some feel overwhelmed and generate a lot of anxiety over what to do. Responding this way only makes whatever the issues are even worse, because now, on top of the new challenges for the day, you have to deal with your own panic which can quickly result in making bad decisions or responding poorly overall.

So what can you do when your day goes sideways?

Let me suggest a few steps you can take when your day goes sideways that can help bring about more positive outcomes:

Don’t panic. As soon as a day begins to go sideways, many people want to immediately panic. Don’t! That’s the worst thing you can do. If you feel yourself wanting to panic, pause and take a few deep breaths in, and release them very slowly. Calm yourself.

Rationally acknowledge the skid. When you allow yourself to panic, you say to yourself, “MY DAY IS GOING SIDEWAYS!!!” with all the negative force that brings with it. Instead, once you’ve breathed and calm yourself, acknowledge the skid with rational thinking:

“Okay, I didn’t plan this, but the day is heading in a direction I didn’t want. It will be okay, I can work through this.”

This is a good time to pray. Before you engage in whatever has made your day go sideways, take a moment to talk with God about it. Ask Him to guide you and to provide you with the wisdom you will need (James 1:5).

Don’t fight the current, swim with it. “Experts” will tell you if you’re at the beach, decide to go for a swim, and suddenly find yourself in a strong rip current that wants to carry you away from shore, don’t fight the current! Some people panic and try to fight the pull of the current, only to exhaust themselves and drown. Instead of fighting the current, swim parallel to it, or in other words, move with the tide. You can do that until you eventually feel the pull of the tide ease, allowing you to then turn toward shore.

In the case of a day going sideways, instead of panicking and “fighting” the intrusion to your day with bluster and anxiety, rationally acknowledge you have something else you have to give your attention to. Move with it by assessing the situation and making rational, prayer-informed decisions about what you need to do, and then take action. Work through the situation rationally to its conclusion.

Reassess and resume to finish well. Once you have resolved what made your day go sideways, reassess what remains of your day — are there parts of your plan for the day you can still accomplish? If so, do what you’re still capable of of doing. If not, make new plans for accomplishing what you had hoped to do that day. Is there anything that you didn’t get resolved about what interrupted your day that you need to follow-through on? If so, make plans to bring any lingering issues to a full resolution. By staying calm and thinking rationally throughout, you can often recoup part of your plans for the day and wind up finishing well even if the day didn’t start as planned.

Express gratitude. Thank God for guiding you through your “skid,” and for what you were able to get done in spite of it. Remind yourself that even though everything didn’t go as planned that day, life still goes on and God was there to see you through. Identify any lessons you can learn from the “going sideways” that can help you grow and mature.

Scotty