Worst Day Ever?

“Worst Day Ever?” is a poem attributed to 11th grader Chanie Gorkin of Brooklyn, New York. It has been making the rounds on the internet and I thought was worth sharing, if you haven’t read it.  

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The poem captures a worldview that is far too common, but be ready for an interesting twist at the end. 

Worst Day Ever? 

Today was the absolute worst day ever 
And don’t try to convince me that 
There’s something good in every day 
Because, when you take a closer look, 
This world is a pretty evil place. 
Even if 
Some goodness does shine through once in a while 
Satisfaction and happiness don’t last. 
And it’s not true that 
It’s all in the mind and heart 
Because 
True happiness can be attained 
Only if one’s surroundings are good 
It’s not true that good exists 
I’m sure you can agree that 
The reality 
Creates 
My attitude 
It’s all beyond my control 
And you’ll never in a million years hear me say 
Today was a good day. 

Now, before you delete this email in despair, read the lines in reverse order and see what happens. 

Worst Day Ever? 

Today was a good day. 
And you’ll never in a million years hear me say 
It’s all beyond my control 
My attitude 
Creates 
The reality 
I’m sure you can agree that 
It’s not true that good exists 
Only if one’s surroundings are good 
True happiness can be attained 
Because 
It’s all in the mind and heart 
And it’s not true that 
Satisfaction and happiness don’t last. 
Some goodness does shine through once in a while. 
Even if 
This world is a pretty evil place. 
Because, when you take a closer look, 
There’s something good in every day 
And don’t try to convince me that 
Today was the absolute worst day ever. 

Amazing, isn’t it? 

Sometimes what looks like the worst day ever can look very different when we choose to look at it differently. If your expectation for happiness is tied to your circumstances you will live a roller coaster life as you rise and fall according to your happenings. 

The challenge is…

• ​to look for opportunity in adversity 
• to find reasons to be grateful even on our worst days 
• to avoid being controlled by the things that happen to you but instead to choose to believe there is goodness in the world yet to be discovered, even on the darkest of days 

So today, what do you choose to see?​