Summary

The article discusses the pitfalls of using "I'm having a bad day" as an excuse for poor behavior, emphasizing the need for emotional intelligence and personal accountability.

Abstract

The text critiques the common practice of justifying rude and inconsiderate actions with the phrase "I'm having a bad day." It argues that while everyone experiences bad days, they should not serve as a license for negative conduct. The author introduces the concept of "Emotional Ignorance," which is the lack of awareness about how one's behavior affects others, and contrasts it with Emotional Intelligence. The article also calls out other related, yet inadequate, apologies that fail to take responsibility for one's actions. It suggests that by accepting these excuses, society enables a cycle of poor behavior. The author humorously suggests revoking the "bad day debit cards" and provides a fictional resource for those in need of more acceptable excuses for the modern era.

Opinions

The author believes that the excuse "I'm having a bad day" is overused and unacceptable for justifying bad behavior.
"Emotional Ignorance" is portrayed as a negative trait, with the author suggesting it should be as recognizable as Emotional Intelligence.
The article implies that society reinforces bad behavior by passively accepting weak excuses, thus perpetuating a cycle of emotional ignorance.
It is suggested that non-apologies such as "I'm sorry if I offended you" are ineffective and show a lack of genuine remorse.
The author humorously advocates for a collective revocation of the "bad day debit cards," symbolizing the end of tolerance for bad day excuses.
The text encourages readers to share the article with those who frequently use their bad days to mistreat others, indicating a desire for societal change regarding personal accountability.

I’m Having a Bad Day and Other Bad A$$ Excuses

Ever been caught between a rock and a bad day?

Ever been caught between a rock and a bad day?

Of course, you have.

We all have.

Bad days are as common as armpits.

We all have them, but using bad days as an excuse to be rude, short, impatient, inappropriate, and petty is no excuse for chronic “I’m having a bad day,” attitudes and actions.

Senior citizens, teenagers, and everything in between have hidden behind this household reasoning and other lame excuses for bad behavior for far too long.

Why is ‘I’m having a bad day’ tossed around like hair and throw pillows?

Great question and I’m so glad you asked.

Bad Dayists use this excuse simply because we accept it, and the behavior that accompanies it, as rational over and over again.

We, the innocent bystanders, wind up paying the price for something that we never intended to buy.

Here’s an example of what bad day behavior looks like in the real world.

Sarah gets a flat tire on the way to work when she’s already running late for an important meeting. The flat tire causes her to miss the meeting altogether. Sarah is furious because this was her chance to introduce her revolutionary ideas to Senior Executives and her team.

After getting the tire fixed, Sarah decides to pick up lunch at a fast-food restaurant.

When asked to repeat her order, Sarah yells it at the employee instead of speaking in a civilized manner.

She may as well have ordered a bad day with cheese.

Sarah’s actions ruin the employee’s great mood, but the employee doesn’t let Sarah know how he feels.

By failing to acknowledge Sarah’s inappropriate behavior, the employee passively gives Sarah permission to repeat her ‘I’m having a bad day,’ cycle.

What is the technical term for ‘I’m having a bad day’ behavior?

Like every other psychological or behavioral thing that has a name, ‘I’m having a bad day’ behavior has a technical name too. It’s called Emotional Ignorance; not to be confused with its nemesis Emotional Intelligence.

Emotional Ignorance is being unaware of the impact of personal behavior on others and inconsiderate of their feelings. Can someone please get t-shirts made for these folks so we can easily identify them? “I’m Emotionally Ignorant,” front and back, works for me.

Emotional Ignorance is lame and inadmissible in a court of law. If you don’t believe me try pleading Emotional Ignorance to the judge when you’re sitting in traffic court for speeding or running a stop sign and let me know how that works out for you.

Beware of Bad Day BFF’s

The Bad Day excuse has several BFF's who are no better than their buddy.

You may have run into them a time or two at a family gathering (pre-Covid) or on a recent Zoom call.

‘I’m sorry if I offended you. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I’m sorry you feel that way.’

These are some of the sorriest excuses I’ve ever heard, and they have no backbone at all.

Imagine that I stole money from you and when you confront me about it, I respond with this, ‘If I stole your money, I’m sorry.’

You would assume that I’ve lost my mind and rightfully so.

What’s worse is when bad dayists work in customer service, and one of those happy go lucky agents just happens to be assigned to assist you.

I’m waiting for the day when I call customer service and the recording says, “Press pound for the person that is the least concerned about resolving your problem.”

Here’s the bottom line..these sorry you know what’s are not apologies or acknowledgments of anything.

They’re really a passive-aggressive way of deflecting what should really be addressed in a group therapy session.

“Hi, my name is Sarah, and I had a bad day.”

Let’s all greet her together. “Hi, Sarah.”

Sarah refuses to take responsibility for her bad behavior and wants us to feel sorry for her. Meanwhile, we’re left to figure out which one of the polite things we said or did that might have accidentally triggered her weekly tantrum.

I’ve decided to write a letter to culprits of bad day behavior like Sarah and her buddies.

Dear Bad Dayists:

Listen up. This is a public service announcement.

Your bad day account is overdrawn.

We’ve stood in line behind you at the bank, at DMV, and at the restroom at the airport, etc., and watched you spew bad day venom on people who have done nothing but be polite to you.

Some things should never be uttered so save the bad day behavior followed by the 5–4–3–2–1 countdown to the apologetic statement from your PR rep and the press conference.

We’re tired of it.

Even the bad day has had enough of your bad day excuses.

We, the people, have revoked your bad day debit cards.

You can longer scan them at the grocery store, department store, bank, gas station, or anywhere else.

The chips in your bad day debit cards have also been deactivated and any remaining balances have been swept into an account and divided amongst those who of us who are still in compliance with our bad day usage.

If you have any comments or questions, please visit our website @onetoomanybaddays.com.

There you will find answers to most frequently asked questions as well as a list of acceptable excuses for the 21st century.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,

The Rest of the World

Thank you for reading my words. If you know anyone that is always taking their bad day out on others, please share this article with them, and do it with a BIG SMILE.