How to Stay Optimistic During Tough Times

Life is a beautiful ride but it can bring with it turmoil and tough times. Whether it be losing your job, getting a divorce, or fighting a worldwide pandemic, life always has something for us to experience. How we deal with these situations is what essentially makes or breaks us. How to stay optimistic during tough times is something we can all learn to do to help ourselves and each other.

Despite all the grief that can happen in the world, we are all living, breathing human beings. We all bleed red, we all laugh just the same and we all hurt just the same. Let’s pull together and be optimistic and radiate that onto our neighbors and friends.

Stay Optimistic During Tough Times

Too often in life, we tend to overthink things and create stress and worry that shouldn’t even exist. If we would just step back and breathe, it would be so much better. When you wake up, be thankful that you live to see another day despite what your current situation may be.

Remember, in this life all things are temporary and this too shall pass. In the evening before bed, take a long hot bubble bath and enjoy a good book. Sip that delicious glass of wine. And when you go to bed, trade-in your cell phone or tablet and spend that extra time cuddling your kids or talking to your spouse.

Just Breathe

Spending more time around those you love and actually being present, will allow you to just breathe. Before you close your eyes for sleep, once again, be thankful that you and your loved ones lived to see another day. Someone always has it worse than we do, but it’s never easy to see that when we are experiencing tough times.

Disconnect

Turn off the news for the day. Put the cell phones and tablets away. Go outside and play with your kids or your dogs. Go for a walk. Dig out the pile of magazines and find one you’d like to read. Better yet, indulge yourself in a new book. Make the most of the time you have, even if it doesn’t seem like the right timing, make the most of it or you may regret it later on.

Find a video game that you haven’t played in a while and rediscover what it felt like growing up and playing video games hours on end with no care in the world. Play a board game with your family. Take time to pray and talk to God. Give your parents a call or better yet Facetime them and actually spend time talking to them.

Discover Skills

If you’re in the middle of a crisis, it actually allows you time that you wouldn’t normally have to practice your skills and discover new ones. Dust off the recipe book and cook up something new. Or start a new Pinterest board of all the recipes and crafts you’d like to do. Then actually start doing them!

If you enjoy woodworking or other hobbies, take a course online and learn the skill. Always wanted to garden but never really had the time? Well, guess what? Now is the time! Be productive with your extra time, even though it’s the last thing you want to think about at first. It’s worth it in the end.

Stay optimistic during tough times.

Show Compassion

When we help others it makes our hearts feel right. Check on social media or within your family and neighborhood. See if anyone needs something that you can help them with. Sometimes something as small as taking a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk to someone can mean the world to them in their certain situation.

Offer to cut your neighbors’ grass. It will help them, make you feel better, and get you out of the house which will ultimately help you to feel better. Always be on the lookout whether in person or online, for something you can do (no matter how small) to help someone else and show compassion. Pay it forward. What goes around comes around.

I’ve heard those sayings all my life, but the older I get the more I truly cherish them.

Learn

There are so many free courses online these days. Learn a new language or learn about history, anything you’re interested in. During school years I always thought learning was lame if you will, but now I truly enjoy learning new things and the convenience of finding material is almost overwhelming.

With all of the books and media and online sources, we are just a touch away from learning and experiencing something new. There will always be something to learn. Embrace it and enjoy it. Share the love of learning with your spouse or kids and get them interested in learning something along with you.

Don’t Stop

Just like the Journey song, don’t stop believin’. Seriously though, don’t stop. When you get knocked down and feel like there’s nothing else you can do, nothing else you can handle and go through- don’t stop. You are strong enough and if you keep on keeping on, you will make it.

Just because people have been inconsiderate or rude towards you, don’t stop showing kindness to others. Everyone has a way of dealing with their own situations and that reflects onto everyone else. Remember that and how you can affect others who may also be going through tough times.

Breathe, Just Breathe

Above all else and first things first to stay optimistic during tough times- just breathe. Stop what you’re doing, stop panicking and stressing and breathe. From there you can come up with your next step. Take baby steps, you don’t have to figure it all out at once.

We are all the same and all have trials and tribulations throughout this wonderful life. But that’s the thing, this life is wonderful, and we are worth it (or we wouldn’t be here in the first place). As my father always says, “Take time to smell the roses.”

Don’t get too caught up in the crazy, fast-paced world. Slow down and enjoy the ride. Nothing lasts forever, this too will pass. Chin up buttercup. And above all else, if all else fails you, pray.

Talk to a family member or friend.  Stay optimistic during tough times. Just don’t stop. And just breathe.

 

Related Post