There’s an old saying about life sometimes giving us lemons. The advice that follows urges us to make those lemons — or challenges, metaphorically speaking — into lemonade. While turning life’s problems into mere inconveniences isn’t exactly easy, there are ways to manage hard situations that can leave you feeling empowered, strong, and even eager to be tested anew.
The following suggestions can guide you in overcoming challenges that may be thrown your way.
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1. Take a deep breath and calm yourself before reacting to your new situation. This allows you to look at the issue clearly and with a cool head before beginning to consider your next steps.
2. Articulate the actual problem. Trouble can sometimes seem more threatening when several issues combine to complicate things. Isolating exactly what is making life hard right now keeps you from wrestling with the entire issue at once.
3. Focus on what you can control. You can’t change the past or manage other people’s thought and actions, nor can you stave off unexpected events. Resolve to devote your energy toward making the best choices and planning the right next steps for you.
4. Concentrate on things you can do right now that can help lessen your emotional pain, stress, or fright. Break your response into manageable pieces. Forget about the months ahead; what steps will get you through today or this week? Don’t try to fix everything at the same time.
5. Run your troubling situation past someone you trust and care for, not necessarily for help fixing the problem but to hear a different viewpoint. A fresh perspective can make a tough time seem less threatening and give you new wisdom for overcoming challenge that you face.
6. Steer clear of making plans and choices while your emotions are high. If the best course of action seems to be an immediate change to your job or surroundings, remind yourself that such choices will still be available in a week or a month when you’ve had a chance to come to terms with things.
7. Maintain progress toward your personal goals. Even on the toughest days, force yourself to continue progressing toward achievement. Take a quick bike ride in place of your usual hourlong gym session. Edit the writing you did yesterday instead of starting a fresh chapter of your novel-to-be.
8. Expect that there will be setbacks in coming to grips with your situation. When you feel like you’re stagnating, it doesn’t mean that you’ve backslid or lost ground in overcoming challenge. Instead, acknowledge that you have new information about how to better manage and the problem.
9. Have a plan for getting through the hardest days. Hard as it may be to believe, life will indeed get better. Time is a great healer, and the sadness, disappointment, anger, or betrayal you feel today will, in fact, subside. Reminding yourself that the toughest moments do pass can make the whole situation feel more manageable.
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
— Nelson Mandela
A positive approach to overcoming challenges is the key to success. Switching your focus from tackling the whole problem to isolating your single best step forward makes it easier to handle life’s tough moments.
You may be surprised at how much a narrower view of a situation can reduce anxiety, sadness, and stress. And once you’ve mastered the art of keeping difficult situations in perspective, you’ll be better equipped to handle any other challenges that life throws your way!
