--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine a day in which you feel generally…" description: "\"“Imagine a day in which you feel generally fine. After waking up, you spend a few minutes in bed lightly thinking ahead about some of the people you wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/rick-hanson-10793_art-work_imagine-a-day-in-which-you-feel-generall_1475014.jpg" --- # Imagine a day in which you feel generally fine. After… ![“Imagine a day in which you feel generally fine. After waking up, you spend a few minutes in bed lightly thinking ahead about some of the people you will see and the things you will do. You hit traffic on the way to work, but you don’t fight it; you just listen to the radio and don’t let the other…” quote by Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/rick-hanson-10793_art-work_imagine-a-day-in-which-you-feel-generall_1475014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/rick-hanson-10793_art-work_imagine-a-day-in-which-you-feel-generall_1475014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/rick-hanson-10793_art-work_imagine-a-day-in-which-you-feel-generall_1475014.jpg) > ““Imagine a day in which you feel generally fine. After waking up, you spend a few minutes in bed lightly thinking ahead about some of the people you will see and the things you will do. You hit traffic on the way to work, but you don’t fight it; you just listen to the radio and don’t let the other drivers bother you. You may not be excited about your job, but today you’re focusing on the sense of accomplishment you feel as you complete each task. On the way home, your partner calls and asks you to stop at the store; it’s not your favorite thing to do after work, but you remind yourself it’s just fifteen extra minutes. In the evening, you look forward to a TV show and you enjoy watching it. Now let’s look at the same day, but imagine approaching it in a different way. After waking up, you spend a few minutes in bed pessimistically anticipating the day ahead and thinking about how boring work will be. Today, the traffic really gets under your skin, and when a car cuts you off, you get angry and honk your horn. You’re still rankled by the incident when you start work, and to make matters worse, you have an unbelievable number of rote tasks to get through. By the time you’re driving home, you feel fried and don’t want to do a single extra thing. Your partner calls to ask you to stop at the store. You feel put upon but don’t say anything and go to the store. Then you spend much of the evening quietly seething that you do all the work around the house. Your favorite show is on, but it’s hard to enjoy watching it, you feel so tired and irritated. Over these two imaginary days, the same exact things happened. All that was different was how your brain dealt with them—the setting that it used.”” [Rick Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-hanson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The same day can feel different depending on whether you adopt a positive or negative mindset, affecting stress and satisfaction. **In simple terms:** Mindset changes how a day feels. Key Takeaway Choose a positive outlook. Themes psychology mindset well‑being Mood reflective encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - daily routine - commute - work - home life Key Concepts cognitive framing emotional regulation Questions to Reflect On - What habits help you stay positive? - How can you reframe stressful moments? A Different Perspective Changing mindset requires effort and may not eliminate external stressors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-work/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Sense of accomplishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-of-accomplishment/) [Thinking ahead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-ahead/) ## Related quotes > [“Now... what I feel these in my brain is just like... some kind of foreign body... like having a very thin little eyelash in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/now-what-i-feel-these-in-my-brain-is-just-like-some-kind-of-foreign/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [“On the job people feel skillful and challenged, and therefore feel more happy, strong, creative, and satisfied. 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Ironically, monotony is what keeps the heart working.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soumeet-lanka/monotony-kills-the-heart-ironically-monotony-is-what-keeps-the-heart/) [soumeet lanka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soumeet-lanka/) > [But I think you have to - whatever the environment looks like, it does enter into people's art work one way or another; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/but-i-think-you-have-to-whatever-the-environment-looks-like-it-does/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [The longest break I have taken in my life was 14 days. On the 15th day, I started getting impatient to start work again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajkumar-hirani/the-longest-break-i-have-taken-in-my-life-was-14-days-on-the-15th-day/) [Rajkumar Hirani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajkumar-hirani/) > [Whenever you start working on something, you have to go about it with the underlying assumption that this puzzle has a solution, right? 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You hit traffic on the way to work, but you don’t fight it; you just listen to the radio and don’t let the other drivers bother you. You may not be excited about your job, but today you’re focusing on the sense of accomplishment you feel as you complete each task. On the way home, your partner calls and asks you to stop at the store; it’s not your favorite thing to do after work, but you remind yourself it’s just fifteen extra minutes. In the evening, you look forward to a TV show and you enjoy watching it. Now let’s look at the same day, but imagine approaching it in a different way. After waking up, you spend a few minutes in bed pessimistically anticipating the day ahead and thinking about how boring work will be. Today, the traffic really gets under your skin, and when a car cuts you off, you get angry and honk your horn. You’re still rankled by the incident when you start work, and to make matters worse, you have an unbelievable number of rote tasks to get through. By the time you’re driving home, you feel fried and don’t want to do a single extra thing. Your partner calls to ask you to stop at the store. You feel put upon but don’t say anything and go to the store. Then you spend much of the evening quietly seething that you do all the work around the house. Your favorite show is on, but it’s hard to enjoy watching it, you feel so tired and irritated. Over these two imaginary days, the same exact things happened. 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