Tips on How to Survive Hard Times

Tips on How to Survive Hard Times

We live in a fast-paced world where we need the answer or results right away… or even better, yesterday. Instant gratification is the name of the game. And, that game comes at a big price.

Not only does it cause a lot of stress and give us less time to relax and slow down, but it also affects how we think. We don’t always make the best decisions when we’re rushed.

We want things instant and fast. There’s no time to dawdle and get distracted, rather everything should happen the very instant we wished for it. This now culture has become a running theme in all parts of life: physical fitness, diets, business, learning, and so on.

We need to be successful on our 20’s, own a house and settle down on the ’30s and retire with plenty of fortune in our 40’s. Life has become a race and this isn’t how it really works. Sometimes we need to take it slow, and sometimes it takes time, but that doesn’t mean we are failing. Remember, great things take time.

Creative thinking takes time. You have to explore all your options and get through the obvious solutions before you can even make it into the realm of thinking creatively. That doesn’t happen instantly. You have to allow the ideas and thoughts to roll around in your head until a creative solution starts to take shape.

Positive thinking also takes time. We sometimes simply have to wallow in self-pity for a little bit at first. Making the shift from thinking quite a few negative thoughts to positive ones doesn’t happen overnight.

So how to survive through hard times?

Give yourself time.

Work on it starting now, but don’t expect major changes right away. Be patient with yourself and get there. Don’t despair or give up when a perfect creative solution doesn’t present itself right away. It will come, but it will come in its own good time.

Here are the tips to help you get through those times when positive and creative thinking simply takes a little extra time. These are things you shouldn’t be doing and what to do instead.

Don’t Force It – You Really Can’t

The most important thing to do is not force it. When you’re stuck and literally feel like banging your head against the wall, it’s a good idea to take a step back and walk away. Let things dowse in your subconscious.

Don’t set grand goals from the beginning or expect immediate results. For example, you shouldn’t expect a business to boom in a matter of days, or don’t assume that you will lose 40lbs after jogging for a day. Again, all good things take time and if you acknowledge this simple idea, things will go much more smoothly.

The hardest thing to understand initially is that you can’t force this type of thinking. Just because you’re working on a deadline or someone is waiting for you to come up with a brilliant solution, isn’t going to make it appear out of thin air. Yes, there are things you can do to speed it up like practicing creative and positive thinking regularly, brainstorming ideas, and looking at something from all possible different angles. But at the end of the day, you can’t force it.

Don’t Give Up – Good Things Are Coming

As long as you’re putting in the effort to move forward, you’ll achieve success. No matter how small or slow it feels, these little efforts add up far quicker than you’d realize. So, don’t be bothered when things feel slow because they’re supposed to. Just because things aren’t moving as quickly as you’d like, doesn’t mean you should give up and move on. Be patient. You’ll get there; and when you do, it will be well worth it.

Don’t Be Afraid to Walk Away

No, I’m not talking about giving up. Instead, walk away for a few minutes. Take a breather, think about something else. Go for a walk; go have lunch, go play with the kids…. Do anything that isn’t related to the problem you’re mulling over.

Your subconscious will continue to work towards a solution and one of two things are going to happen. Either, the perfect idea will pop into your head while you’re doing something else, or you’ll get back to work and looking at things with fresh eyes and a fresh mind will make what you should do glaringly obvious.

Respect Your Development

Everyone works differently and has their own quirks and habits that make them tick. Be gentle on yourself when you aren’t able to write for a novel overnight or have your own house on your 20’s. There’s an ideal course that each of us follows. You need to respect it.

Getting distracted isn’t a bad thing, taking a break isn’t wrong.

Make Progress

It doesn’t matter if you do a little or a lot on a daily basis. The only measurement is that you are getting closer to your goal every day and not procrastinating. Don’t burn yourself out. Take a break and let the subconscious take over for a while.

If it’s a new habit, set incremental goals that will get you where you want to go. The point is improvement, not propinquity. Slow and steady wins the race.

What important is you’re putting in the effort to move forward, you’ll achieve success. No matter how small or slow it feels, these little efforts add up far quicker than you’d realize. And that’s how you will survive hard times—sometimes, all it takes is time.