How to Show Up When It Sucks

Life will smack us in the face with the unexpected and when it does, it’s normally not a pleasant surprise.  In fact, most of the time when you and I are blindsided it SUCKS big time!!

Here are a few ways that I've found helpful to deal with those surprises...

1. Listen to The Alarm

Listen to your bedside alarm and get up and going. Listen to the proverbial alarm, that nagging voice in your head and get up and get moving. Taking action diminishes doubt and quickly replaces complacency with momentum.

2. Nourish Your Soul

Do something that nourishes your soul. Read, pray, meditate, sit in silence, listen to the sounds in your environment. Use all five senses to ground yourself and breathe. Deep. Cleansing. Purifying breaths.

3. Feel Your Feelings

Set aside time to feel the feels. Get angry, weep, wallow and give yourself permission to sit in the suck. Don't judge what you feel, who you feel angry towards, or the nasty narrative. Let it play for a prechosen period. Then shift your focus. That's an important part: schedule it and then move on so you don't wallow on repeat. If you need to come back to predetermined times to cry and be pissed again, so be it. But you will feel more empowered the more you control it rather than having it control you.

4. Consume Positive Content

Mentally shift your focus by consuming positive content. Listen to a song that inspires you, gets you energized or makes you feel more present. Look for the good as best you can, even when it's difficult.

5. Move Your Body

Move your body. A walk in nature is nourishing and a hard workout at the gym can do wonders for your psyche! Move you body, alter your mind so you can press on.

6. Reflect & Release

Reflect and release before bed. How did you manage through the suck today? What will you strive for tomorrow in terms of micro improvements? If you need to schedule a meltdown like I have, have at ‘er and schedule it for the following day. For your evening wrap up do your best to release. Release the need for things to be ok right away. Release the need to have people see things your way, no matter how much conviction you have. Release judgment on them and yourself.

Tomorrow is a new day; you can start fresh again. Take it a day at a time.