Everyone goes through challenging times, and knowing how to deal with them can be tough.
When you feel stuck in a negative situation or unhealthy pattern of behavior, it can be incredibly hard to understand how to break free.
Or even summon up the energy to try.
Sometimes a few poorly chosen decisions can set you on the wrong path. The further you continue this journey, the harder it may seem to get your life back on track.
If you have found that your life seems to be heading in the wrong direction lately, you may be wondering how to regain control and turn things around.
Perhaps most importantly, it is crucial to remember you are not alone.
You are not the first or the last person to find your life speeding off in the wrong direction… and wondering how it all went wrong.
Making changes in life is not easy. And as they say, old habits die hard. Sometimes, it is easier to continue the same self-destructive habits …rather than take the difficult road towards new habits and change.
Know this now: If you are presently questioning your behavior and acknowledging that something needs to change, then you are on your way to a better life.
And I’m here to give you a gentle nudge forward in this positive direction.
As you might know, I am a bestselling wellness author with about 2 million books sold globally.
Plus I founded a groundbreaking video course called The Anxiety Cure.
I love sharing tools to help people live their happiest lives.
With this mind, I created this article to encourage you to be honest with yourself. I want you to take some quiet time and admit that you are unhappy with your current situation. And then I want to help you to do what you can to get back on track again.
6 Tips To Help You Get Back on Track After a Challenging Time
If you find yourself questioning your choices and struggling to align your behavior with your beliefs, you may be eager to start making changes and put it all behind you. Below are some tips to help you get back on track after a challenging time.
1. Find Your Cheerleaders
Everyone needs people on their side. But sometimes, going through a challenging period in your life can lead you to push people away.
During a difficult time, you need to mindfully consider the people around you and determine who is the right person to speak to about what’s causing you stress.
You need to take some time to figure out…
- who are the caring people in your life who support you.
- which are the people who might not be rooting for you
Toxic relationships can take many forms. Sometimes they are hard to spot when you’re emotionally invested in the relationship.
However, there is no getting away from the fact that a toxic relationship will always drain your strength. This can be especially harmful when you are feeling vulnerable during a challenging time.
Admittedly, when you are going through a difficult time, it can be tough to identify the people with your best interests at heart. After all, they may be the ones that are not telling you what you want to hear. But, it’s important you take time to find your cheerleaders and accept their support rather than push them away.
Having the right people supporting you can make a significant difference. Even the most challenging times are more bearable when you know that you are not alone.
2. Be Proactive
If you have gotten yourself into trouble, it can be tricky to know how to deal with the situation and determine what you can do to start making things better.
When things go wrong, the scale of the problem can feel so big that you don’t even know where to begin to do the needed damage control.
While it is tempting to ignore the situation and hope that it simply resolves itself, it is essential to be proactive and deal with the situation head on.
If you want to avoid becoming overwhelmed, you need to take time to prioritize what needs to be done.
How? Make a list of everything you need to do. Then look at this list and determine what’s most important to do first.
Make sure you deal with the immediate issues as soon as you can.
For example, if you’re dealing with a divorce with a narcissistic partner who’s expressed they’re out for vengeance, you should immediately contact a divorce lawyer. Or if you find yourself in trouble with the law, you should contact someone to organize posting Bail Bonds as soon as possible.
This principle applies to whatever challenging situation you find yourself in. So, when a difficult situation occurs, write things down. It’s essential that you see all the steps you need to take in a clear way. Consider all your options. Then prioritize what needs to be done first – and quickly.
3. Seek Expert Help
During a challenging time, you might want to talk to an expert to get some professional help with your issues.
Admittedly it can feel painful to talk through your problems.
But it’s important that you examine the different aspects of your life which brought you to this challenging time. It’s highly valuable to unearth those uncomfortable feelings you have tried to bury.
However, with guidance from a counselor, or a good master mindset coach. you should be able to start unpicking the tangle of thoughts and feelings that have led to your current situation.
With the supportive combination of both your cheerleaders and proper professional guidance, it will be a lot simpler to get your life back on track once again.
4. Reconnect With Your Values
If you want to feel happy and fulfilled, you need to live in a way that is purposeful and meaningful.
But sometimes, things happen that can cause you to lose your connection to the things that give you purpose and meaning.
As a result, you can forget to live by your values and priorities.
This can happen for many reasons.
However, when you experience a breakdown of a relationship or a job loss (etc), you can suddenly become aware of how your life spiraled out of your control.
When this happens, you need to take time to become aware of your innermost desires to live in a way that is most authentic to you and your core values.
The less you live according to your values, the more negatively you will feel about yourself. And this low self esteem will then lead to a downward spiral of unhelpful behavior that takes you even further away from your values.
So take some time to think about what truly matters to you. Journal about this topic. Brainstorm how you can make your values a more significant part of your life. Then take some time to mindfully recognize how important it is for you to do everything you can do to reconnect with what brings you a feeling of purpose, meaning, self respect and integrity.
5. Take Things One Step at a Time
Once you start heading in the right direction, you may feel impatient about your progress and eager to turn your life around overnight.
However, forcing yourself to turn your life around immediately can do more harm than good.
Instead, it’s more helpful to try to make steady progress rather than setting yourself up to reach impossible goals.
You need to ease the pressure that you put on yourself by acknowledging that there is work to be done.
Focus on slow progress rather than speedy results.
If you put yourself under pressure to do too much too soon, you can undermine your efforts and feel overwhelmed.
When you feel tense, it becomes so much harder to maintain your efforts. As a result, you may be more likely to slip back into unhelpful behaviors.
So, reduce the pressure that you put on yourself. Focus on making steady progress each day. In time, you should find yourself back on track … even after the most challenging time.
Stay Calm Even During Challenging Times
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