5 Hard Things You Need to Start Doing for Yourself on Hard Days

“On particularly hard days when I feel that I can’t endure, I remind myself that my track record for getting through hard days is 100% so far.

And, I remind myself that hard days are necessary, to live through and to learn from.  The hardest days make us who we are, inside and out.

So many of us are afraid of ourselves, of our own truth, and our feelings most of all.  We talk about how great the concepts of life and love and passion are, but then we subconsciously hide from them every day.  We hide from our truest feelings.  Because the truth is, life and love and passion all hurt sometimes, and the feelings this pain brings disturbs us.

It’s all in how you carry the things that don’t come easy or don’t go your way.  That’s what matters in the end.  You should stand up for your right to feel pain, to endure it, to deal with the hard realities of life and love and work, as you grow into the strongest, wisest, truest version of yourself.

While I’m certain there’s no “one size fits all” list of advice for growing through the pain of hard days, there are some very important general principles that apply to most people who are presently in the trenches.  The points below, then, aren’t universal clarifications, but simple guidelines that will hopefully give you a general starting point for supporting yourself when you need it most:

1. You need to start shifting your focus.

Our minds are incredibly powerful.  They can bring us down or lift us up at a moment’s notice.  How we think about things literally changes everything! what you focus on grows stronger in your life.

2. You need to start questioning the stories you’re telling yourself.

When we enter an experience with a story about how life is, that tends to be what we see, even when there’s plenty of evidence to the contrary.

3. You need to start watching your (very human) tendency to fabricate negative meanings and conclusions.

Reframe your negative thoughts and stories effectively, so they are based entirely in reality, detached from needless drama, and focused on the next positive step forward that can be taken in the present moment.

4. You need to start letting go of what can’t be changed.
5. You need to start being consistent with the right daily rituals.

Just like every muscle in the body, the mind needs to be exercised to gain strength.  It needs to be worked consistently to grow and develop over time.”[1]

What kind of day are you having?

[1] http://www.marcandangel.com/2018/05/13/5-hard-things-you-need-to-start-doing-for-yourself-on-hard-days/#more-5585

    Until next time, remember,

• You are not alone.

• You are not your circumstances.

• You have everything within you to live a purpose-filled life.