Hard days, what to do??
So I thought that if I survived yesterday, that today would be A-OK, but it seems that it’s just going to be one of those weeks!
I hesitated about posting this, because I don’t want to use this feed to complain…but I also want to be authentic and honest with you all about the “ups and downs” of life…
Today stinks. Everything is hard and not going the way "it’s supposed to.."
Some days, weeks, months, years, they are just hard.
We can always find joy in the middle of the struggles and we can always make the most of our situations, but that doesn’t make the trials less trying or the days less difficult.
For about 30 minutes today I had a little pity party for myself where I dwelt on the frustrations, misfortunes, stresses, and disappointments.
Then I remembered that my day or week was probably going to stay cruddy if I continued to dwell on the negative, so I began to consciously shift my mindset (for me this always involves prayer, because in and of myself, I’m not enough to make that happen).
Then I took action.
- For one thing, there are always blessings to be thankful for, so I began to count those.
- For another, there’s always something I CAN do amidst the many things that I can’t, so I picked a couple of activities that I felt were small scale enough to be possible, but would also make me feel like I accomplished something, e.g. cleaning my filthy car, because at this point, my house is a lost cause. By the way, if you don’t already know this, kids LOVE cleaning cars.
- I reached out to a couple of friends that spurned me on and reminded me that no bad day is forever.
- And the last thing…I didn’t use this day to give myself permission to throw in the towel completely.
Some days warrant that, but I have no reason to believe that tomorrow will be better than today, so why sit on the couch watch a show and eat ice cream today when it’s not going to make me feel better or more inspired tomorrow?
I am giving myself grace.
I made Applegate hot dogs for lunch and I ate mine on a single slice of toasted bread with some butter on it (Friendly’s style).
Drank a ton of seltzer water and ate lots of veggies too.
There’s also a walk and a small piece of dark chocolate in my future…and lots more seltzer and probably a few dance sessions so that we can shake off the funk when it creeps back in.
What about your day?
Are you struggling or excelling?
Wherever you are, I want to encourage you to pick one small thing that you know that you can do.
Maybe it’s as simple as making your bed? A walk? Making a to-do list? Doing the very next task at work without thinking of what has to happen next.
Keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Push when you can, rest when you can’t go another step and when you’re ready push again!
And if you need help, reach out to a friend or family member!
Or email me!
XOXO,
Sarah