Thriving Through Tough Times

It’s been a rough week. You may be able to relate to feeling like you’re on a roll, until something happens that is totally out of your control, and you’re brought to a screeching halt. You may feel the urge to be hard on yourself for losing your momentum or be gentle and praise yourself for the productivity you achieved. My experiences are often in between, but I try to lean on the side of self-empowerment.

 It’s hard to get back on track after going through a difficult moment. You probably feel like you need to rest and recover. In my case I’ve been emotionally exhausted after a terrifying family health scare. Even though everything is going to be alright, I was surprised by the lingering anxiety and lack of energy that I was left with.

Whether it’s something serious or moderate, internal or external, I encourage you to take note of your patterns around these moments and approach them with understanding.

For example, I notice that during and after a difficult moment, I can get stuck in a self-defeating and self-pitying mindset. When I’m assigned a frustrating task at work, I may succumb to bitterness and lack of motivation. This is different from practicing self-love during these moments. A positive and productive mindset would include paying attention to how and why I’m feeling certain emotions and figure out a self-soothing way to cope and make adjustments throughout the duration of the moment.

I address this by unlearning a core notion, that life will always be fair. Sometimes unpleasant things will happen, with no lesson or resolution in sight. You should take note of these moments, do not linger on them too much, and move on to things that will contribute to your happiness. I’m still working on letting go of the illogical, and unlearning the need to always know.

There will be situations that are out your control, and you’ll feel like you’re just surviving through it. You can take advantage of what you can control and shift your mindset. You will thrive through these moments by using them as an opportunity to elevate your self-awareness.

Key Takeaways

1. We must be able to discern between self-love and self-pity.

2. Self-awareness means recognizing and honoring your internal patterns.

3. It takes unlearning some beliefs to achieve happiness and freedom.