“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein
When those really tough times come around, sometimes it can feel like everything you do just kind of flops and is on a steady downhill slope.
Trust me, I’ve been there. My clients have been there. My friends have been there. For many of us, those tough times are hard, stressful, and full of uncertainty. But beyond all of that, there is actually a very profound and positive impact these hard times have on us. You see, difficulty and opportunity are close companions and one rarely goes anywhere without the other.
During challenging times, maintaining a good mindset is probably the most important thing you can do. It will allow you to stay upbeat, avoid self-doubt, persist through the hardship, find smart solutions, and eventually turn the situation around.
In order to stay positive and be resilient, consider the following:
Remember Your Purpose
Remember why you’re doing what you’re doing. Why did you start in the first place? What were your goals when you started? What have you achieved so far? Who would you be letting down if you gave up?
It can be helpful to write down your ambitions, successes, and key motivating factors to remind yourself daily what you’re working towards. This way you’ll be able to get through the harder days by focusing on the small tasks that help advance your overall mission.
Visualize a Successful Outcome
Visualization can be a useful technique when increasing your chances of success and can be applied to pretty much any aspect of your life. Whatever it is you want to achieve, imagine it happening and feel what it will be like to accomplish your goal. Really lean into the emotion of it. The more detailed the visualization the better – from the conversations you have and what you want to accomplish next in your career, right down to the clothes you’re wearing and how you want your morning to go!
Embrace the Struggle
When you bypass any struggle you are experiencing, you can develop the tendency to move right along when you do experience your first difficulty. This often leads to becoming so fixated on the problems we encounter that we fail to recognize opportunities. Oftentimes, difficulty and opportunity go hand-in-hand when developing your next great idea or succeeding in your career.
Learn How to Lessen the Pain.
More often than not, it’s the difficulties we face that bring about the opportunities. A simple way to face your hardships and lessen the pain is to build your resilience. By doing so, you strengthen your ability to bounce back when things don’t go as planned. Building your resilience is a truly valuable skill to have when you are feeling overwhelmed and stuck on what the next step should be.
Instead of looking at the big picture, break it down. Ask yourself, “What’s in front of me today? What do I have to do? How can I move forward effectively?” Remind yourself that you are capable. Reminisce on the times you did hard things and romanticize it a bit. Look for the silver lining. Maybe you don’t feel it yet, but this method is cliché because it does really work!
Celebrate Each Small Victory
When you’re going through a difficult time, it can be easy to lose sight of the little successes. This can actually be a great confidence booster, so while it’s not necessary to throw a party, do recognize the achievement, whether that’s by taking the night off or simply grabbing your favorite snack.
Above all, remember that no matter what the day brings, each new morning offers the opportunity to get it right.
Want to talk about this further? Great! Let’s get in touch. I can help walk you through your toughest times and come out the other side empowered, clear on your objectives, and ready for the next phase of your journey.
