1. Have a day.

I was once told by someone that they purposely wake up earlier – even when they don’t have to – just to ‘have a day’. To them this was a throwaway comment, but to me this was poetry.

It showed an awareness of current state and being. You have an existence that is entirely yours and a space for you to occupy, if you choose to. It can seem daunting – the coming and going of days that fold into weeks and morph into months, and you’re left with that same dull feeling. You got through it, now what?

On Wednesdays, I usually have a football match to play which is something I love. However, one particularly greyed Wednesday, everything seemed to be against me. I had had a tough week emotionally, I hadn’t turned up to training, I wasn’t prepared and above all else, I was on my period. I had mulled over the idea of bailing and sleeping in, which wouldn’t have made a difference to anyone else but myself.

And so, I got up, got ready, and played. Women, men, coaches, people and their dogs all caught sight of the game that day, and all I could think of was how glad I was to have made the choice to be there as well – to see it all. It was then that I realised the day will continue whether you’re there to live in it or not, so live in it, as best as you can.

It just so happens that I made a significant day for myself, my team even ended up winning 5-2 (!) even though there was possibility for the day to turn bad.

Allow a vagueness to overthrow the expectations of a good or bad day and just have a day. It’s easy to get overwhelmed at a brand-new morning with the same sky and the same sun poking through forgettable cloud, with all the possibility and the promises you had made coming back to bite you.

So, before you bite it back, consider that it starts with you getting out of bed and realising the promises you had made to yourself. I’ll never forget that Wednesday and how ordinary it was; it proved something to me. It surprised me and suddenly I was excited for the next ordinary day. Usher yourself along to make a day for yourself – and have a day.

‘the day will continue whether you’re there to live in it or not, so live in it‘