#CEOs have you ever had one of those days that ended up DRAMATICALLY different from what you expected it would be?

You are not alone.

The life of a leader can be disconcerting. Key people may leave. Key customers can call up with a major complaint. Major holes can appear in a strategy. People on the team can do something crazy.

As one leader puts it: “I’m always dealing with the curveball de jour.”

For days like that, the best advice I can give is to apply perspective, persistence, and a little humor.

PERSPECTIVE. A leader in a big construction company would always advise: “Never get too high and never get too low.” Business has ups and downs. This might just be a down.

PERSISTENCE. That occurrence could be just what you need to really strive for excellence and another step closer to your goals. (Losing a team member can be an opportunity to find someone even better.)

HUMOR. Some of the funniest stories I hear are “war stories” from work: who stole what, who did what while traveling/working on the company dollar, things a customer asked for… After a little time, these stories can be great teaching tools and often end with the phrase “you can’t make this stuff up.”

Had “one of those days?” I can empathize. CEOing is tough work. That said, chances are you learned something and likely have a new story to add to the collection.