Real Success Newsletter 36

"So how was your day today" said John, wondering what reaction he was going to get from Phil. The last time John had asked Phil, he seemed depressed and uncertain of his future.

"I've had a great day thanks - things are looking up!"

John was surprised but delighted in Phil's change of mood

***

And isn't life just like this?

One day time can drag, life seems hard and progress seems uncomfortably slow. The next day something can change, or shift and life seems to move on again.

So how can we deal with the bad days?

Here are 5 tips for coping with those days when life seems a struggle:-

Speak to someone. When things get tough, we tend to shut down (particularly men) and disappear into our caves. We can feel emotional and can't face seeing anyone at all. But staying shut away doesn't help us climb out of our caves, holes or depressed moments. As human beings, we are social beings and need contact with others to make us feel loved, special and secure. So recognise this and call someone when you are feeling low. You'll be surprised how just talking to someone else can lift your spirits or put things into perspective.
Go outside. Nature has a magical way of hearing our troubles and healing our hearts and minds. If you feel trapped by your circumstances, a walk outside (whatever the weather) can re-connect you with your inner voice and show you the beauty that surrounds you. The fresh air can clear the head and the exercise can stimulate the positive corners of your mind.
Take action. When time seems to be dragging and we seem unable to get anything done, simply by doing something we can make ourselves feel better. So pick something small or something that you know you enjoy doing. It might not be the most important task or anything on your goal list, but just getting started on taking action can lift us out of the doldrums. You'll find that once you get started, your feel like you have accomplished something and you can move on to the important tasks.
"This too will pass". When we feel down, our minds can make us believe that the period could go on forever. Great days tend to fly by with time passing in a blink of an eye. Unproductive days can feel like they are going to stretch into more days, months or years. However, we know that tough times don't last. Yes, some of life's challenges can be suffocating for a while - even a long while. But bad days at work or in business will pass. We have to remember that time does move on. We can't stop this - its a universal law. So even bad days will pass. And sometimes, this is all we need to know to get through it.
Help someone else. When we are feeling down - one of the best ways to lift ourselves out of the self defeating "feeling sorry for ourselves" trap is to help someone else. When we offer to comfort, assist or help another, we can't help but feel better. This is another universal law. We help someone on their journey of life, we help ourselves on our journey. If your business is struggling - help someone else with theirs. If your love life is empty, comfort someone else who is hurting. If you think you are suffering, help someone else who you know is suffering too. In every case, you will realise that your troubles are less than you thought and you'll feel better for helping someone else. Try it. And then let the universe help you in return.

So the secret to dealing with the bad days is to take your focus off yourself and focus on "action" and "others". If you take any sort of action and interact with others in any way, you'll feel better and time will begin to speed up again. But then time is just time isn't it? It just feels faster and slower depending on your mood!