There’s a lot of mental adjustment happening right now as more people get vaccinated, mask mandates dissolve, and the world opens. I don’t think anyone thought the reentry would take this long. I personally didn’t imagine it would make me feel anything but elated.

But here we are, a little over a year later and we are still adjusting. And we will continue to. COVID dramatically shifted our lives. It immediately illuminated so many changes that need to be made in our society, communities, and families. It added more awareness to our lives and required us to be present like never before. Almost overnight.

Adjusting to change, let alone dramatic change, requires us to expend a lot of energy. And some of the most typical coping mechanisms and habits like holding on to the past, over-stressing, overthinking, and trying to make everyone happy might make us feel good in the moment, but drain our energy. So, of course, we might be getting up and dreading the day. We’re in survival mode just going through the motions.

But, unfortunately, if that’s how we’re starting and moving through our day, it’s probably how we’re going to end it as well. And the cycle will just continue.

We write lists for the things we have to do all day, logically going through each task and deliverable. But what about mentally focusing on how we want to approach things? How do we want to feel? How do we want to show up?

“I’m going to have a good day” is never on anyone’s to-do list. There’s never a box to check on how to approach your day mentally and emotionally. And, yet, exactly that can have a huge impact on your day. I think people forget they alone are in control of their thoughts and mental space.

Before you get out of bed tomorrow, take a moment to think about how you want your day to go. If you know a challenging conversation is coming, think about how you want to feel and the impact you want to have. Dreading to see someone? Send them good thoughts instead of worrying about how much you don’t want to see them.

And consider—what if, regardless of what came at you, you could still have a good day? How would your life change?