Ever had a bad day? Not a wimpy bad day like you ran out of Fruit Loops and had to eat Cheerios bad day, but the kind where the alarm goes off in the middle of the best dream ever, you stub your toe getting out of bed, then distracted ram your shin into a sharp furniture edge and as you are throwing some choice words at the offending piece of furniture you run into the door jam with your shoulder, which calls attention to the stain on the shirt you are wearing, which is also the last one you had clean? We all have bad days — all varying degrees and definitions of bad. Starting out on a sour note always presents a challenge.

Do you take your bad day and sour note with you to work? I’m hoping most of you are shaking your head no! If you take a poor attitude to work, you infect everyone you come into contact with. Who wants to be infected with a bad day? Think about the emotional drain and downer of a client that dumped on you, while you don’t mind and enjoy being there for them, it can cast a cloud on a beautiful day. Now imagine that you have done that to every client in your chair all day long. How miserable for them!

We are all only human, no one can be happy all the time. Sometimes in the salon you have to “fake it till you make it” to keep from being a carrier of bad day blues. What are some of your solutions for being cheerful at work on a bad day? Some suggestions could be: put on cheerful music in the car, call a friend and unload on your way to work, and if you need to — imagine I popped out of your computer and gave you a bear hug and a smile.

— Holly