Struggling? 10 Steps for Overcoming Tough Times

As a member of the human race, we have more in common with one another than we have differences. Just like death and taxes, we all experience tough times, and therefore, we can learn from each other’s mistakes to make our walk on the road just a little bit easier.

From the more than 1000 Luminaries that we’ve featured on InspireMeToday.com, here’s the collective wisdom on how to get through tough times, that just might help you get through a difficult experience.

1. Look at the worst thing that can happen. Feel it. Mourn it. Cry through it. Then picture the worst that can happen and realize that you’ll live through it. From that alone, you’ll find a way to let it go and the strength to move on.
2. Forgive yourself and stop beating yourself up. What happened has happened. You can’t change yesterday so don’t waste energy on it. It’s already in the past. Choose to let it go so you can move past it.As the Desiderata says, “You are a child of God, no less than the moon and the stars… you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, the Universe is unfolding as it should.” Wow- take that in for just a moment… you are no less than the moon and the stars, and they are pretty spectacular! Would you beat up the moon and think it inadequate because it doesn’t shine the same every nightBeating ourselves up over something that may appear real serves no one. Everyone has problems. Even enlightened people have problems. What’s different is how they choose to perceive and react to them. The most important thing is how we choose to move forward.
3. Find something to be grateful for. No matter how awful things may look you have at least one thing to be grateful for. Find it and celebrate it, and from that, more good will flow into your life. Start with celebrating the little things and your joy and gratitude will grow.
4. Realize that life is an ever-changing journey where nothing stays the same. That means that this too shall pass. What matters most is that you keep going. If you’re stagnant, remember that pond scum only forms on still waters.
5. Change your focus. As humans, we can only have one thought at a time and we get to choose the thought. If the circumstances you’re in are dreadful, do what you can to solve it, then turn it over to the Universe and focus on something else. Focus on what you WANT, not what appears to be showing up.Create a vision for your life of where you want to be- regardless of what might be showing up in your life today. Focus on where you choose to be and feel THAT feeling. The fastest way to bring that into our life is to celebrate it in advance and feel it- even if we’re only playing “make believe.” This alone will change the energy around the situation and create shift.
6. Look at your priorities. We spend too much time worrying about the things that matter the least. You are not your problems. As Noah ben Shea writes, “Being broke is not the same as being broken, losing money is not the same as being lost and finding your balance is not something you can do on a balance sheet”. Remember what’s important and what’s not. If it won’t matter in five years, it’s not worth worrying about today.
7. Go do something for someone else. The fastest way to get unstuck is to reach out and help someone else in need. Most times this act brings perspective into our own situation and we realize things are not so dire.
8. Have faith and believe in yourself and in your future. The solution to your all-consuming problem could show up in the next moment. Anything is possible for us – if we just believe. Believe that the sun will come up again tomorrow and that it is still a beautiful world. Find the magic in the moments and surrender your beliefs on how things “should” be to the greater will of the Universe.
9. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, support you and love you. This can be in the form of daily inspiration from InspireMeToday.com, virtual friends on Twitter or Facebook, and friends that you connect to in person. Reach out to them for help and accept help when it is offered. Be there to help someone discover his or her own magnificence!
10. Reconnect to who you really are. Go deep. Maybe this means go meditate, pray or go for a walk in the woods. Whatever reconnection looks like for you, realize that you are more than your problems, so remember the infinite, unlimited nature of who you are.Sometimes I too get caught up in the problems and the drama and forget who I am. The important thing isn’t that we forget, but how quickly we remember who we really are. We are infinite beings with unlimited potential!

Remember, there is nothing like you in all of creation… relish in that. Treasure the you that is inside. Nurture and grow that presence until it becomes bigger than the problems. You are immeasurable and when you tap into that knowledge, anything is possible. When you tap into your greatness, your problem will diminish in size in direct proportion to that which you connect to. In other words, tap into little things like problems and they will seem enormous. Tap into the vast, unlimited power of who you really are, and you will jump over those same problems that at one point, appeared to be insurmountable.

Today, remembering your own magnificence, step forth bravely. Be courageous. Tell yourself, “Even though there are problems in my path today, I will not allow something so minute to diminish the splendor of who I really am or rob moments from this precious day.”

Fill your life with inspiration and tap into something bigger than you- something that has the power to turn mountains into molehills. Soon, you’ll look back at what you once thought of as a problem and wonder what it was that had you concerned in the first place.

By practicing these 10 steps you’ll quickly remember the magnificence of who you are, and find yourself smiling at how beautiful life really is.