Have you ever had a day when you woke up with the best intentions,
Ready to be better than yesterday,
And then life simply didn't cooperate?
Yes,
It's what we call a bad day,
Where a setback,
A mistake,
A rejection,
A foggy brain,
Or just a low mood happens,
And suddenly the whole day feels wasted.
Hi,
I'm Vasya Sarantopoulou,
Licensed psychologist specializing in perfectionism anxiety and burnout,
And today I want to offer you a different way to understand growth,
One that is gentler,
More realistic,
And more human.
But first,
Let's take a deep breath,
And come here,
Into this present moment.
High achievers,
Ambitious minds,
Perfectionists,
Or all of us who want to do our best,
Or just the right thing,
We love progress,
Right?
We love the idea of becoming better parents,
Better managers,
Better humans,
Every single day.
And when things go well,
We truly believe that this is what's happening.
We learn,
We evolve,
We tick things off,
We feel capable.
But then,
Life does what life always does.
It surprises us.
A bad night of sleep,
A mistake at work,
A difficult conversation,
A sudden wave of sadness,
A rejection,
Or a random Tuesday where nothing seems to flow.
And our inner critic whispers,
You failed today.
Instead of going forward,
You moved backwards.
How did you make that happen?
What went wrong?
Why aren't you working harder?
Can you be more careful?
Not only you wasted a day,
But this will have consequences on your future.
And to cut a long story short,
We end up spiraling about how much of failures we are,
And how our life is destroyed.
And all this,
Because of a bad day.
But let's look at the belief we hold about life and about ourselves.
This belief that growth should be constant,
Measurable,
Predictable.
This belief is an illusion.
Life has seasons.
Life has storms.
Life has off days.
Setbacks happen not because we cause them,
But because it's impossible to be prepared for all possible scenarios.
And accepting these doesn't mean lowering our standards.
It just means stepping into reality.
So today,
Your first gentle practice is acceptance.
Not resignation.
Not quitting.
Let's not confuse these two.
Acceptance.
Just acknowledging that being human includes messy days,
Bad days.
And that these days don't erase who you are,
Or where you're going.
Let's breathe into that for a moment.
Now,
Let's challenge another idea.
The idea that growth only happens when we are productive,
Happy,
Efficient,
Or at our best.
What if growth also happens on the days when we struggle?
Think about it.
On bad days,
What do we usually do?
We attack ourselves.
We attack ourselves.
We blame ourselves for not preventing the bad day,
Or even worse,
For just having it.
As if we caused the disappointment.
As if we are responsible for every emotion,
Every circumstance,
Every detail of life.
But what if this moment,
This very difficult moment,
Is the place where the deepest growth is possible.
Where you are still growing,
But in a way you have never imagined before.
Not by pushing yourself.
Not by criticizing yourself.
Not by forcing discipline on yourself.
But through being kind to yourself.
Tender.
Compassionate.
Instead of saying to yourself,
I'm so disappointed at you.
You bring that gentle voice that says,
Hey,
This is hard.
And I'm here for you.
And I'm here with you today.
That is the kind of growth most perfectionists secretly long for.
The growth of becoming your own ally,
Instead of your own judge.
So here's your second practice for today.
If you're having a bad day,
Or even a bad hour,
Talk to yourself with kindness.
Tell yourself,
This day is not a punishment.
It didn't come because I failed.
It's just a day.
And I'm allowed to support myself through it.
Or if there's only one small part of your day that feels off,
Practice kindness towards that one little piece.
Start there.
And then take a moment to absorb how that feels.
Does it feel icky?
Uncomfortable?
It must be,
Right?
It's a voice that we haven't heard much around us,
Let alone coming from ourselves.
But also allow yourself to feel proud that you tried something different.
Something better.
Because now you're growing out of safety,
Trust,
Rest,
And kindness.
And not out of pressure,
Judgment,
And fear.
Before we finish,
Let me leave you with this.
You don't grow only when life is easy,
And predictable,
And planned.
You grow when you stay kind with yourself,
Even when life is not all these things.
You don't have to move fast.
You don't have to be perfect.
You don't have to impress anyone,
Not even your own inner critic.
You are human,
You are learning,
And you're doing your best.
And even today,
Especially today,
You're still growing.
Thank you for sharing this moment with me.
Take good care of yourself.
