We all know the adage: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
Sometimes, life throws lemons at you so hard they splatter when they hit. Ain’t nobody making lemonade from that?
So what do you do when you look back over many months and realize you’ve been in ‘survival mode’ for some time? In a constant state of ‘one foot in front of the other/just keep swimming’?
The following are answers to this question
Get rid of as many commitments as you can
Human beings are almost too resilient for our own good. The amount of stress and strain we can cope with when pushed, it’s stupefying. But please, take it from someone who has to get all the way to breaking point before she makes changes – just because we can push that far doesn’t mean we should.
Instead, when you see breaking point on the horizon, stop, assess all your commitments, and starting dumping the ones you can.
Lightening our load works in two ways. One, it gives us space to breathe so that when we have to cope with the latest contingency life has thrown at us, we’re better able to do so. Two, it gives us fewer areas in which contingencies can arise.
Spread the load
When life is one shitty thing after another, most of us internalize it because we don’t want to be a downer when around our family and friends. So we put on a happy face and soldier on. But if there is one thing experience has taught me, a problem shared is a problem halved. It really is. And you don’t have to be a downer, just be honest.
Make sure you’re still doing your ‘thing’
During the crappest period of one’s life, one of the things that help keep ones head above water is one’s job passion.
So what’s your thing? The thing that makes you ‘buzzy’; makes you feel really ‘alive’?
Is it performing? Is it being creative? Is it connecting people? Is it meeting new people? Is it plating up a beautiful meal?
Whatever your thing is, you need to make sure you’re getting some of it on a very regular basis. Because even if life is GREAT, if your ‘thing’ is absent, you will struggle.
That makes it even more important when life is NOT great.
Get yourself a serotonin boost (chemical responsible for mood balance)
There are a couple of things you can do to quickly and easily give yourself a much-needed serotonin boost:
- Introduce random acts of kindness – Now this may seem like it goes against dropping commitments, but really, acts of kindness do not need to be big things. They can be as little as catching the eye of the frazzled mum trying to wrangle her screaming toddler, and just giving her a knowing smile.
- Get out in the sunshine and move your body – So sunshine may not always be in ready supply, but in short, our bodies crave natural light during the day. So even getting outside on a cloudy day beats the fluorescent light we get indoors. Combine this light with an aerobic activity like running/walking/cycling/swimming and you’re looking at a highly effective, and probably much needed little mood boost.
Know you can always cope with your ‘now’
What’s your track record for coping with what life has thrown at you to date? It’s 100% right? Pretty impressive.
Know life will get better
Oh, this is a hard one to hang your hat on when the hits just keep on coming. But it is certainly true that life gets better.