It's really not that bad

A brief history on our name and it's meaning

When thinking about what I wanted to name this little corner of the internet, it was important to me that it had intention and held a bigger message. After a lot of brainstorming and word play, I came up with “It’s Really Not That Bad,” which was further shortened to “Not That Bad”. To me, this name's a reminder that despite all the bad that tends to consume the world, if we stop for even just a moment to take a look around us, maybe we can start to notice that our lives… really aren’t that bad.

Now I really want to avoid this becoming a toxic phrase. My intention is never to undermine or ignore the very real pain that we feel and go through. Some days and situations really are going to be that bad, where the only energy we have is to flip from one side of the bed to the other, and those days are so valid. I am a firm believer that we can’t have good without the bad.

Instead, I want this phrase to be something that we can remind ourselves of in the moments that are just a little wonky. For the moments we catch ourselves making up things to be upset about or complaining about something that’s actually not that big of a deal, even during the days that just aren’t so great. I don’t mean this as a phrase to solve all of our problems, but instead to serve as a reminder that all bad days pass and, no matter how bad it feels, it will always get better again.

It’s so easy to get caught up in these bad moments and let them ruin the entirety of our day. Trust me, as a routine fanatic and perfectionist, I’ve been there more times than I’d like to admit. But I really want to break this pattern. It does me no good to get caught up in these small moments and allow them to have a bigger influence over me than they deserve. I also don’t like to think of myself as a negative person. Throughout this year, there were so many days that I was so unhappy with what seemed like everything. I started to associate myself with being a big downer when people used to describe me as a super bubbly and positive person. I miss that version of myself.

So that’s the origin of her name. To remind us all that we have so much to be grateful for. Life gets so much better when we romanticize the small moments and remember that it’s quite literally impossible for things to be perfect all of the time. This moment might not be 100% perfect, but it’s as perfect as it’s going to get, and that’s pretty cool.

So, if you ever notice yourself falling into a negative spiral of thought, try taking a moment to look around and ask yourself if those negative thoughts are really worth the energy. Because yeah, sometimes life really does suck and we need time to feel those bad feelings, but a lot of the time, it’s really not that bad.

Alright, that’s all for now. Talk later :)

<3 Julia