WARNING! IT'S NOT ALL SUNSHINE AND ROSES...
A couple of people have noticed I've not been my
usual cheery self of late.
This is because I've had a disastrous few months,
in what will now forever be known as THE SUMMER OF DOOM 😩
So many things went wrong, relentlessly, one after
the other, that it has had a disastrous knock-on effect on my motivation,
productivity and confidence. 😩
This last week, spending my time on a networking
bonanza with positive people has forced me out of self-pitying misery.
I decided to write a list of everything that has
troubled me (plus a few additional personal ones) - and I'm sharing this with
you as I found it to be quite therapeutic.
Now I find that instead of worries, I have a list
of challenges to tick off, like a to-do list.
Having networked with many lovely people this week,
I have regained my mojo, and am ready to progress again.
So thank you to everyone who I've interacted with
this week
- you have all had a hand in cheering me up.
How can this glum period be turned into a positive?
That is, how can we reframe things so that we learn some lessons from the Summer of Doom?
Here are my Top Tips:
How to Cope When Things Go Wrong
1. First of all, there's no point ignoring issues and problems - I tried that; they don't go away. Because if you do nothing, nothing happens!
2. Make a list your problems in print. The list then becomes your action plan: a tick-list of challenges to complete and overcome, one by one.
3. Don't take it personally. It's not because you're unlucky, deserve bad things, they always happen to you, etc etc. The pity party does not help. Ups and downs happen to everyone, so don't let it get you down. If anything, the bad times make you fully appreciate the good times!
4. Keep your chin up. Time is a great healer. Even the worst days are only 24 hours long, and tomorrow is a fresh start.
5. When things are going really bad for me, I take myself off for a nap. Things are always better after a sleep. (Hence the old term, "let me sleep on it"!) So take a break, and have a nap. Naps are the future!
6. Stay positive and be grateful. It really helps me every day to recite a list of things I'm grateful for.
Today's gratitude, for instance included: I'm grateful that my body is well and working. I'm grateful that the weather is fair and cheery today. I'm grateful that my mum is feeling much better today. I'm grateful that I am lucky enough to have a roof over my head and food in my cupboards. I'm grateful that my thumb has stopped hurting from bashing it. (You don't appreciate how good and necessary your thumb is until you can't use it for a bit!)
7. Finally, don't ever, ever, ever, ever give up.
As one of my imaginary mentors, Winston Churchill,
says:
