7:52 am. Work on the track, a forgotten file and an overturned mug: your day has decidedly started badly. Upset, you wonder if these first moments will condition your next 24 hours – or if the trend will be reversed? Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist, answers you.
The importance of the start of the day
If the French have the annoying reputation of being in a form of constant complaint, the Americans would be a bit more optimistic. They would even be actors of their day – trying to improve it, as soon as it rises.
According to a large investigation entitled “Bowl Half Full: A Report on Optimism, Nutrition & Wellness ” And conducted with 5,000 Americans, about half of the respondents (46 %) would set up a ritual or a routine to transform a simple day into a “special” day. And for many, this ritual must be applied as soon as it rises.
“”Almost half of people are counting on a regular morning ritual – such as preparing for a healthy breakfast, walking or simply reading a newspaper – to start from a good foot“Confirm the researchers.
The study also reveals that most respondents could predict whether their day was going to be positive or not before 8:30 a.m.
A founded prediction? Or are we really condemned to spend a bad day if we started off? Here is what Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist thinks.
Starting your day badly “is not inevitable”
No offense to the groves or those who see the mornings of a gloomy eye, everything is not played between 6:00 a.m. and 9 a.m. And fortunately!
“Admittedly, there are mornings where everything annoys. An ill -formulated email. An object that we are looking for everywhere. A meeting that turns vinegar. And it’s gone, everything derail and the thoughts that go with it:” Today, the day looks bad … and will be zero “, underlines Amélie Boukhobza.
And there, without even realizing it, the brain begins to “filter”. “”This is called the negativity or confirmation bias. The brain prefers here to retain what confirms its intuition. Do you come across a colleague who doesn’t tell you hello? Proof that this day is not worth living. Do you have a setback? Another index. Do you forget your keys? The whole planet is against you … “, continues the expert.
The good news? All these annoyances do not predict the rest of your day.
“Out of the question of letting a morning thought dictate everything else. The brain can be reconditioned, precisely because it is plastic and it only asks to be referred. It does not mean forcing yourself to smile stupidly or to do as if everything was fine, but simply to create an opening. Return to your body. Building. To breathe. Reconnect to something simple, concrete”, concrete “, concrete” she advises.
An example: walking for a few minutes if you can or just allow yourself to say “Admittedly, this is a bad start, but not necessarily a bad day. Let’s start from scratch“.
The day is not written in advance. “”And sometimes, it only takes a small gap – a break, a word, a silence – to put back from the game where everything already seemed played. But you have to put a little good will! “, concludes Amélie Boukhobza.