Is your life falling apart? Are you or someone you know feeling really discouraged and depressed, like nothing’s working out? Maybe your marriage is falling apart or you lost your job. Sometimes, in order for everything to come together, things need to fall apart first.
The world will tell you that if you just find the right person to be with then you will find hope. Or if you just get a new job, you will find hope. Or if you had some more money, you will find hope. But all those things can never fully satisfy.
Here are some basic ways to help you think about your journey and to help keep you grounded, especially when the unexpected happens:
1. Reach Out To Friends
This can be especially hard for guys, when we’re down our natural instinct is to isolate and muscle through our problems. The problem is that that isn’t healthy. One of the first things God said about human beings is that it is not good for us to be alone. Isolation is no way to live. We were meant to have fellowship with other people and sometimes you just need to talk about your problems with someone.
2. Be Grateful
Even if it seems everything is going wrong, there are things that are going right. Every day, write down all the things you are grateful for having happened to you today. Be descriptive of each item. Feel the joy those things bring you. Even if it’s something really small like your car started this morning. Be grateful for it. This will help you to stay focused on the positive.
3. Pain is temporary
Any situation never lasts forever, whether that be a bad breakup, financial struggles, family arguments, or other issues. No matter what you might be going through, console yourself by remembering that you are the master of your emotions. You can choose to see the silver lining in any situation, and transmute the pain into an opportunity for growth.
4. Unplug
Maybe it’s time to log off Facebook for a while. If you find yourself wallowing in self pity after you get read social media it’s probably time to give it a rest. When you compare your life to other people’s Facebook timeline it’s like comparing their highlight real to your behind the scenes. Sometimes you just need to take a step back from the virtual connections and connect to real people in real life.
5. Discouragement is Just a Trick
Here’s a quote I really like about not letting yourself get discouraged.
“Discouragement is a negative emotion with more than one trick up its dark sleeve. It tricks you into mentally or emotionally dwelling in the very place you want to leave. Drop all such sorrow permanently by daring to see through this deception of the unconscious mind. You have a destination far beyond where you find yourself standing today” – Guy Finley
Keep this in mind as you continue to take steps towards your goals. You do have a destination far beyond where you are today.
6. Take a minute to pray or to channel positive energy.
No matter what you might face, try to look at the bright side of the situation and call on your angels or spirit guides for higher wisdom. They will help ease your frustration or anxiety about the experience, and calm your energy so you can better handle the situation. Prayer will put things into perspective and remind you that everything on Earth works in mysterious cosmic ways which we can’t always understand.
7. God’s plans for your life are even better than your own plans.
God’s plans are almost always different from our plans, but His plans are always perfect! If things in your life aren’t working out like you had hoped, it may be because God is trying to redirect you towards a much better plan. Have the patience to wait on His timing instead of forcing your own.
“For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
If you let yourself get into a negative mindset, you will fall into a victim mentality once again. Resolve to keep your mood up despite your current situation, and the negativity will not have any power over you anymore.
Don’t worry, we all have ups and downs. Just look up and keep going. The next time you feel swamped by the pressures of modern life, just remember that you and millions of others are in the same boat. The best thing to do is to actively create a life you love, and the pressures won’t seem so enormous anymore.