THREE TIPS FOR WHEN LIFE IS DIFFICULT
#1 Check-in with yourself
We all react to situations differently. We’re receptive and sensitive to different things, have different triggers and a variety of mechanisms which we use to deal with these situations.
When life is difficult take a moment to reflect on why it is difficult.
Is it something you could have foreseen, prepared for or even avoided?
- What is the situation making you feel? Be specific.
- Why is the situation making you feel like this? Get to the root of the problem.
Describe your difficulty or problem in a single word or short phrase. If you find it’s taking you a whole paragraph to define it, then you haven’t honed in on the root cause yet.
Here’s an example from my own life…
I used to work too hard. I burned the candle at both ends, eager to please my boss and to be seen as a diligent, hard-working and motivated employee. I was all these things but I was also heading for burn-out in the process.
And why was I was working so hard? When I really thought about it, it was because I was a perfectionist over-achiever, desperately wanting recognition and praise. I was so insecure that I wasn’t able to find these things within.
To my mind, it was easier trying to get praise from my boss then giving praise to myself. However, I was making myself ill in the process.
In a nutshell, I felt inadequate.
So, just to re-cap… one of my first tips for when life is difficult is just to assess your feelings and try to define the WHAT and the WHY. This will help you with the next tip.
Further Reading