A book came out way back in 1972, and it has stood the test of time even though it’s only 32 pages and most of those are dominated by illustrations. The author: Judith Viorst. The title: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
You probably remember it as a children’s book. But the title aptly describes how we feel about many of our days as adults. We encountered one misfortune after another – our own versions of gum in our hair in the morning, no dessert in our lunch bag, lima beans for dinner, and going to bed in pajamas we can’t stand to wear.
Alexander wants to move to Australia to escape his problems. But as his mother reminds him, even people in Australia have bad days. Or weeks. Or months. Or as was the case for me in 2025, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year.
I never woke up with gum in my hair, but I ended 2024 with a virus that turned into a long-term, hard-to-diagnose, harder-to-treat, nagging medical condition. And, frankly, it led to some mental health struggles that were unlike any I’ve ever battled.
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Few things are more frustrating than feeling like your health is spiraling totally out of control. I spent months in intense self-reflection, and it was challenging to live out things I’ve long believed during a time when it was extremely hard to cling to purpose, hope and joy. My time in the refining furnace, however, led to several valuable lessons that I’d like to share.
Lesson 1: Talk to friends in the middle of your trials; share with others on the back side.
In my stage of life, I’m not afraid to bring this up in a public way, but I’ve wondered how I might have handled it if I had still been an executive for a global company with shareholders.
The temptation would have been to keep my mental health problems locked in my own private file cabinet. But one thing I learned in 2025 is that we don’t heal without help. We might not need to air our problems on an earnings call but we do need to share them with the appropriate people at the appropriate times. Otherwise, we never break free from our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days.
Lesson 2: Take care of yourself, but don’t stop thinking of others.
As my struggles mounted, my team and I made the decision to cut back from some of the work I truly enjoy – primarily, interviewing guests on Off the Rak. So we ran “best-of” episodes for a few months and then ramped back up this fall when I was feeling better.
The time away from preparing for and conducting those interviews allowed me to focus on my mental and physical health, and it spared viewers from seeing me when, frankly, I wasn’t at my best.
At the same time, I couldn’t withdraw entirely from the world.
The concept of enlightened self-interest reminds us that we need to balance our personal needs with our service to others. Our lives are inter-connected and there are long-term benefits from sympathizing and empathizing rather than obsessing about our troubles.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Scottish author John Watson: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” That doesn’t mean that we stop going to doctors or that we don’t try different treatment options. It just means that we recognize and respond to the fact that each of us is one of millions of people who might be having a rough day, week, month, or year.
Lesson 3: Never lose sight of your purpose.
A friend recently sent me a quote that’s been floating around on the internet: “Your purpose is not what you do, it’s what happens to people when you do what you do.”
I was encouraged throughout 2025 by my guests on Off the Rak, and one reason was that I ended each episode by asking about their purpose. It was inspiring to hear them talk about the thing (or things) that mattered most to them and the positive influence their purpose had on others. And it reminded me of the power of my purpose: To have a transformative influence in the lives of people around me.
Lesson 4: Let the fires refine you rather than destroy you.
When I was CEO of Prologis and we were bringing the company back from near bankruptcy, I often acknowledged that we were going through a difficult time, and then I reminded employees that adversity leads to perseverance and perseverance builds character.
I had to live in 2025 like I believed that advice, and it wasn’t always easy. As C.S. Lewis noted, “Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear.” If we recognize and face our mental pain, he added, it doesn’t have to devastate us.
“Some by heroism overcome even chronic mental pain,” Lewis wrote in The Problem of Pain. “They often produce brilliant work and strengthen, harden, and sharpen their characters till they become like tempered steel.”
Me? I’m not yet tempered steel. But I’m no longer having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. And I am looking forward to doing all I can in 2026 to have a transformative influence in the lives of people around me. How about you?
