Recently I found myself spiraling into the “everything sucks” trap. You know, one of those days of overwhelm that has you feeling like a Grinch. My husband Mike and I joke that as parents we sometimes want to put ourselves into “time out.”

I’ve learned there is power in the pause. Having brief check-in periods throughout the day allows you to redirect your attention to be a human being, not a human doing. A few quiet moments of stillness can make a huge difference to helping you regroup and approach things one step at a time instead of like a frantic crazy person.

My pause is often just closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing or it can be sipping a warm beverage with absolutely no distractions. When I’ve taken a time out, I can remember that not everything sucks (just a few things suck right now, and even though I feel awful right now, I won’t always feel this way).

What are your strategies to cope with an “everything sucks” day? Share your thoughts in the comments below.