Staying Positive When Life is Getting You Down

It’s bound to happen, isn’t it? Things are going well, you’re cruising right along feeling like you’ve got it all under control...And then BAM—it hits you.

BY RUTH SOUKUP

AUTHOR, PODCASTER, AND FOUNDER OF RUTH SOUKUP OMNIMEDIA

Something completely unexpected knocks the wind right out of your sails.

Your kid gets a stomach bug (that makes its way through the entire family). You don’t see the step as you’re rushing to put the groceries away and crush your toes. That big contract at work falls through. Your basement floods. The washer stops working. Someone you were counting on lets you down.

And those are just the little things.

The reality is that on any given day, life can throw us for a loop in a million different ways—big or small.

And while it’s easy to stay positive and motivated when things are going right, it’s not always so easy to keep our chin up when it feels like life just keeps knocking us down.

Even so, there are a few manageable things we CAN do to help get us through those rough patches:

GIVE YOURSELF GRACE

It’s okay to recognize that you are having a bad day or going through a rough patch and the situation you happen to be in right now simply sucks. Recognizing that life isn’t going exactly the way you want it to be doesn’t mean you are wallowing, it simply means acknowledging the way you feel, and giving yourself time to work through it mentally and emotionally. Give yourself a little grace.

CHANGE THE TAPE

Whenever things go wrong, there is a certain amount of self-talk that goes on in our own heads, and it’s usually on the negative side. Have you stopped to listen to the message that your tape is playing? If you’re telling yourself things like “I can’t do this,” or “this is too hard,” or “I’m never going to figure this out,” or “the whole world has it in for me,” you need to change the tape. Start replacing and saying out loud, over and over, things like, “I can do this,” “this is only a season,” “this too shall pass,” “I am stronger than this obstacle,” “I am willing and will figure this out,” “the way someone else treats me doesn’t define who I am,” etc. It might feel silly, but I guarantee it will start to change the way you view your situation.

GET SUPPORT

It can be hard to ask for help, but you don’t have to do any of this alone. There are people who love and care about you, but chances are they either don’t know you are struggling or don’t know how to help. Be honest and be specific with the people who love you—your spouse, close friends, etc.—in how they can help. Let them know, “I’m really having a hard time right now and I could really use some support. Would you be able to help me by...or with XYZ?”

GET MORE SLEEP

There is nothing more powerful and restorative when life feels completely overwhelming than a good night’s sleep or a really good nap to catch you back up. Because when we are stressed, our sleep tends to suffer. Even if it feels impossible, make sleep a priority. Enlist some help if you need it. And if you are having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, try these sleep tips.

GET OUTSIDE AND MOVE

When you’re feeling down and out, it’s hard to muster up the motivation to exercise, but there is ample research showing how just a little movement, fresh air, sunshine, and simply getting out in nature can drastically improve our mood. Even just 10 minutes can drastically improve the way you feel. I’m not telling you to run a marathon— just go for a short walk. It will help. I promise.

FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT

Get up, put on makeup, wear your favorite shirt or your favorite shoes, listen to music that pumps you up, clean your house, and stand in front of the mirror and smile for one whole minute even if you don’t feel like it. You might be surprised how these small things can help. Because while our mood often dictates our actions, the reality is that our actions also have the power to dictate our mood.

As I was setting my goals in my Living Well Planner® a few weeks ago, I picked the following quote as my motto statement for the month (along with my yearly one): In other words? Sometimes the only thing we can change is ourselves.

My challenge for you this week, if you are feeling like you’ve been knocked down by circumstances outside of your control, is to try at least a few of the strategies I mentioned today. Allow yourself time to acknowledge your feelings and give yourself more grace. Change the tape that’s playing in your head. Ask for help and ask for grace from others when you need it. Get more sleep. Take a walk. Or maybe just fake it a little until you make it through the day or week.

You might just be surprised at what a difference it makes.

Live with purpose, friend, and here’s to a wonderful weekend! xoxo, Ruth

You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”

Reprinted with Permission from https://ruthsoukup.com/