Finding inner strength in hard situations build strong people. Everyone has gone through something that has made them stronger than they could’ve ever been otherwise.
I’ve been there myself several times over the years, and I’ve learned a lot about coping with and growing through hardships. If you are struggling in some way right now, these three strategies can work wonders…
1. Decide to be OK with NOT being OK all the time.
Even though it’s true that life’s challenges make us stronger, and that it will be OK eventually… it’s not always OK right now, and sometimes that’s all we can feel when we’re in the midst of terribly tough times.
Sometimes NOT being OK is all we can register inside our tired brains and aching hearts. This feeling is normal. This emotion is human. And accepting this can feel like a small weight lifted.
The truth is, it’s not OK when someone you care about is no longer living and breathing and giving their amazing gifts to the world.
It’s not OK when everything falls apart and you’re buried deep in the wreckage of a life you had planned for. It’s not OK when the bank account is nearly at zero, with no clear sign of a promising income opportunity.
It’s not OK when someone you trusted betrays you and breaks your heart. It’s not OK when you’re emotionally drained to the point you can’t get yourself out of bed in the morning. It’s not OK when you’re engulfed in failure or shame or a grief like you’ve never known before.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Whatever your tough times consist of, sometimes it’s just NOT OK right now. And that, again, is more than OK.” quote=”Whatever your tough times consist of, sometimes it’s just NOT OK right now. And that, again, is more than OK.” theme=”style2″]
Yes, I’m suggesting to try your hardest to be perfectly OK with not being perfectly OK all the time. Because those with the strength to succeed in the long run are the ones who lay a firm foundation of growth with the bricks life has thrown at them.
Don’t be afraid to fall apart for a little while, because when it happens, the situation will open an opportunity for you to grow and rebuild yourself into the brilliant human being you are capable of being, one brick at a time.
2. Focus on today, only.
No matter what’s happening, you can resourcefully fight the battles of just one day. It’s only when you add the battles of those two mind-bending eternities, yesterday and tomorrow, that life gets overwhelmingly intense and complicated.
Accept that it’s not the experience of today that holds you back and drives you mad, but the regret and resentment about something that happened yesterday or the fear and dread of what tomorrow might bring, but probably won’t. It’s necessary, then, to let yourself live just one day at a time—just today—just right here, right now.
And this same strategy applies to your goals too—they don’t need to be so darn grandiose and convoluted that they frighten you.
If your goals excite you, and are broken down into manageable chunks, you’ll be compelled to move forward with them. If they are based on what brings meaning into your life, not just what you think you “should” do, working on them will flow easier into each new day.
3. Realize that one tiny step is all you ever need to take.
It really only takes a small shift everyday that over time amounts to enormous change.
People don’t suddenly heal and start living their ideal life overnight—their daily rituals (tiny steps) play a massive role in making it possible for them to create the life they sincerely want to live.
You can choose to develop daily rituals that point you in the direction of creating your ideal life—or rituals that keep you firmly anchored to your present situation. Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then take the next tiniest step forward in the direction you choose to go.
Honestly, that’s all life is—tiny, positive steps that you take moment by moment, and then one day when you look back it all adds up to something worthwhile—something that’s often far better, and different, than what you had imagined when you began your journey.
But, as I’m sure you are aware, it’s always much easier said than done.
Embracing pain, being present with it, and building the right daily rituals to support your growth and happiness takes guidance and practice.
And that’s exactly why I made this process the foundation of my ebook, Better Days. Truth be told, if I had read this book a decade ago it would have saved me from myself in countless ways.
It absolutely would have saved me from intense periods of darkness that were born primarily from my subconscious attempt to take the easy way out of the painful realities I faced. I learned the hard way, but YOU don’t have to.
Filled with actionable steps for bouncing back from tough times and getting back on the road to happiness and success, Better Days is a book to spark sustainable action—and to return to whenever needed.
Sharing never-before-published stories and strategies, the book shows how to harness the power of daily rituals, mindfulness, self-care, and more to shift our perspective—and our actions—in order to become our happiest and most effective selves (because you deserve it!)
In the book, you will face the truth right from the get-go…
You are not the same person you were a year ago, a month ago, or a week ago. You are always growing. Experiences don’t stop. That’s life.
And the very experiences that seem so tough when you are going through them are the ones you will look back on with gratitude for how far you have come. Of course, it takes practice to get there, emotionally and physically, and that’s why I wrote this for YOU.
