Friday, 29th March 2024
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Think your way out of the dark

With the many hurdles, pitfalls and barriers in life, we all fall down at some point, it’s part of the journey. But what truly makes a difference is our ability to get back up.

With the many hurdles, pitfalls and barriers in life, we all fall down at some point, it’s part of the journey. But what truly makes a difference is our ability to get back up. Whether it’s in our finances, work, fitness goals, relationships, or family, we have all stumbled and fallen, some much more spectacularly than others (who doesn’t love a good train wreck when it isn’t happening to you).

The same people that seem to love to see others fall from grace are somewhat inspired in equal measure by someone rising from the ashes of despair, or a triumph over adversity (think of how much people love Bill Clinton now). Though most of us will never experience a truly global scandal complete with a public witch-hunt, we all have our own private ‘Vietnam’. Staring up from a seemingly inescapable pit is a very dark place to be, whether you’ve lost a job, survived a horrible breakup or are just stuck, here are five tips to get you back on track and be more successful than ever:

Keep a positive attitude
You might be having a bad day or a bad year, but things are only going to get worse if you’re down on yourself. You may have just crashed your car into a tree because your wife found all the sexts that you sent to that girl. Things could be worse. It’s a crap situation and you’re in it. You’re smart and capable, so find a way to deal with it.

Work to get better, not to stay good
Sure, you might be good at something, but every day that you’re not improving means you’re slipping behind everyone else. Everyone can get better, even at the things they’re good at. Don’t let yourself plateau. Tiger Woods didn’t stop practicing when he was the best golfer in the world. And when he slipped in the rankings, he doubled his efforts. He broke down his swing and started over again. He wasn’t happy just being good.

Project confidence
One of the first steps to succeeding is being positive and showing others that you’re capable of anything. Smile in the face of adversity. Don’t feel bad for yourself and dig yourself even deeper. Stand tall and believe, know that you can and will succeed.

Do things you’re good at
Sometimes it feels that nothing is going right. You suck at everything. Well, that’s not true. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. If things aren’t going well, go back to the fundamentals and do what you’re good at. If work is getting you down, then go home and give your car a tune-up. If you can’t find a job, cook your wife a world-class dinner. If you’re lacking confidence, put yourself into situations where you know you can succeed. Sometimes even the little things can help.

Just be consistent
It doesn’t matter whether you want to lose weight, put on muscle or be as flexible as a gymnast, consistency is what really makes the difference. You need to stay on track day after day after day. Being consistent can be difficult at first but it doesn’t take long to build a habit, good or bad. Don’t worry too much about getting it right first time just start and keep going.

Don’t stress it
The long game is far more important than the short game. Start building habits for the future. If life gets in the way, don’t worry, just get it next time. Make a plan but don’t be too strict. Stay flexible but focused.

Exercise early
Not only is your hormonal system ready for exercise in the morning but it will help you psychologically too. Once you leave something until later in the day, things always get in the way. You spend the day anticipating the workout. It gives you time to think up excuses. The best thing is to get up and get started. Don’t over think it just get it done for the day and forget it. It won’t take long to build a habit of exercise and see what it does for the way you think.

Enjoy yourself
Nothing sucks more than feeling that you can’t do something and then getting down on yourself because of that. If you and your lady are going through a rough time, go and do something together that you both love doing. Recreate a few of your first dates. Go mini-putting or go to the movies. Don’t let everyday life depress you. Make it fun and you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to accomplish your goals.

If only all of life’s problems were this easy to resolve…sigh. Every situation is unique, remember these are just tips, not solutions to the problem.

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