More Ways to get Through Hard Times

During the start up of two businesses, my husband and I ended up having two babies, 15 months apart. It was hard.

Within three years, we took one company public and into a major acquisition and the other business we grew for ourselves (quite literally, it was a winery). Anyways, over the years I've learned strategies to get through challenging, intense times where I feel over my head.

I shared the notions of gratitude, prioritizing, one-step-at-a-time and asking for help in another blog post, but there's more! And these one's a are little less talked about:

1. Zoom out - Do you realize we are hurtling through space at 790,000km/hour, spinning in multiple directions and surrounded by billions of other spinning rocks like the one we're on? While you probably know that, do you actually reflect on it? This YouTube video tries to illustrate the insane scale and movement of our solar system and can help us recalibrate how we see the size of our problems. I find the contemplation of outer space to be liberating and it usually frees me, briefly, from some of the weight of my "problems".

2. Keep positive people close (fountains!) - There are roughly 8,000,000,000 people in the world and while you don't need to be cut throat with the company you keep, you should certainly be careful with ALL of the input you plant into the garden of your mind (podcasts, news, whose advice you take, etc) and keep those close that fill your cup.

3. Control the controllables - Mel Robbins has turned her "Let Them" theory into a wildly successful enterprise. She has reminded people that trying to understand, adapt to or change people's choices is often a waste of our precious resources when we could be focused on our own realm of influence. Adam Grant also shared a great LinkedIn graphic about this recently:

   
   

   

   Adam Grant is exceptional - if don't already, follow him.

   4. Go towards the challenge rather than resisting it - Okay this one is my favorite because it takes great awareness and courage but also yields the greatest results. I learned in yoga that when I feel a part of my body stressing in a pose, it only quiets down when I send my attention there instead of away from it. It seems counterintuitive but what happens is that you take away the tension and conversation, turning the power struggle around. So instead of a tennis match between your brain and the stressor, you bring them together towards a united goal. Exposure Therapy works in much the same way to treat anxiety and phobias. By moving towards the challenge, we learn that we can, in fact, handle it - quelling the influence of doubt and fear. Now: imagine that thing that's really overwhelming you.. Are you avoiding it, maybe putting it off? Does it involve difficult conversations or perhaps larger transitions than you feel ready for? The hardest but truest advice will be to go towards it, one step at a time, rather than avoid it, if you want to get through the ick.

The thing about all (any) tips, tricks and strategies is that they are a practice and don't usually come easy. So please, don't be too hard on yourself. Give yourself the grace to practice this thing called Life like you would to your best friend - just reading this far means you have the heart and spirit for what lies ahead!

Have you heard of these strategies before - moreover, have you tried them? I would love to hear if these approaches are new to you and/or have worked before!