30 Supportive Affirmations for Bad Days

Last Updated on December 29, 2022

The day starts just like any other: seemingly normal, maybe a little bit mundane, but totally under control. You go about your morning just fine, nothing crazy happens. Your coffee tastes good, and your drive to work is a breeze.

But then, upon getting to work, things don’t go so hot. You realize you forgot your lunch. Your boss expresses dissatisfaction with you in your performance review. You walk outside on your break to find a parking ticket sitting on your windshield.

Before you know it, your “normal day” has you saying ”this day SUCKS!”

And you’re allowed to feel that way! Bad days DO suck! BUT you don’t want to fall into the trap that a few bad events = a totally bad day.

That’s where these affirmations for bad days can help! These affirmations will soothe you even when nothing is going right. Reading and speaking positive statements can put things into perspective and actually re-train your brain to begin choosing positive thinking over negative.

So before you panic or bang your head on your steering wheel out of frustration, try repeating these affirmations for bad days!

Table of Contents

30 Affirmations for Bad Days

A bad event doesn’t equal a bad day.
A bad day doesn’t equal a bad life.
I have the power to turn this day around.
I have the power to seek out gratitude no matter what my day looks like.
I am not my mistakes.
I deserve self love, self compassion, and empathy for myself.
I’m not a superhero. I can’t do it all and that’s okay.
It’s not my job to prevent absolutely everything.
I am learning every day.
I’m doing the best I can with the circumstances I’m in.
I choose to focus on the little things that bring me joy.
I give myself space to feel my feelings.
I can use healthy coping skills like journaling, affirmations, and self care.
One bad part of the day has no indication of how the rest of the day will go.
I’m allowed to feel whatever emotions I’m feeling.

I don’t need to waste my energy comparing myself to others.
I’m going to ask myself, “will this bad day matter in a week from now? A month from now? A year from now?”
Accepting what is happening will lessen my distress about it.
I’m letting go of the fears I have about today.
I’m in control of how I react to bad situations.
I’m doing the best I can.
I’ve gotten through all of my bad days before this. I will get through this one too.
I will speak kindly to myself.
I will reframe my negative thoughts into positive/rational ones.
I am capable of accomplishing anything I put my mind to.
I am at peace with what is in front of me.
Difficulty is only temporary.
I am trusting the process.
I am capable of handling whatever comes today.
Bad feelings are not permanent.

Love affirmations like these? Get them as cards!

A physical reminder of positive vibes is even more effective for helping you stay grounded!

Grab this deck of 40 printable affirmation cards and bring your affirmations to life. Use them as journal prompts, stick ‘em on your mirror for an everyday reminder, or get creative and turn them into a vision board or collage on your wall!

GET THE AFFIRMATION CARDS

My Best Practices for Picking Yourself Up on Bad Days

1. Ask yourself: is this a bad day or a bad PART of the day?

We can be so quick to label an entire day as “bad” or “good,” when in reality a bad couple hours doesn’t need to paint your whole day as a terrible one!

Put things into perspective by taking a step back and really assess your day. Were things just fine all morning? Will you still get to enjoy the rest of your day after you leave work? Dissect your day into sections rather than assuming one bad event means a total bad day.

2. Be gentle with yourself

My first instinct when things go wrong can be to blame myself or get frustrated with something I did. But reacting this way only adds fuel to the fire, so make a conscious effort to stop this behavior when you notice it.

Would you bully someone who’s already having a hard time? No! So why treat yourself that way? You deserve extra self-compassion when the going gets tough. Use positive affirmations (just like these affirmations for bad days!), relax in bed when you can, and take it easy.

3. Understand your feelings and what they’re telling you

Say you’ve had a hectic morning. You’re in a rush, you forgot to put gas in your car, you read a stressful email, and then to top it all off, you spill your coffee on your white shirt. UGH! Seriously?!

Of all hectic things that have happened, it’s the spilling your coffee that REALLY tips the iceberg and makes you tear up.

But was it really the spilled coffee? Was that really what made you cry? Nope, it’s everything that led up to it. The spilled coffee just so happened to be the tipping point.

You already felt like things weren’t going right, so you were extra sensitive and on-edge to any little stimuli at that point. Instead of feeling silly for crying over spilled coffee, dig deeper. Recognize your feelings and why you’re feeling them.

That stressful email you got in the morning might have made you feel overwhelmed after an already overwhelming week. Not having gas in your car might have made you feel like you don’t have your sh*t together, which also made you feel bad.

Sometimes, our surface-level feelings can indicate deeper insecurities or chronic stress and that’s the real reason why we’re feeling so bad! So listen to your feelings. They might be signaling the need for more self care.

Let me know in the comments: