What do you do when times are tough & you’re struggling? How do you keep yourself going if you feel like you keep hitting a wall? I’ve been reading the book of Ecclesiastes this week. The author- thought to be King Solomon- reflects on the futility of life. He sees the futility in the struggles of life, but ultimately determines that our paths are directed by The One who created us. Is that a help during tough times? For me, it comes down to faith. In times in my life when things were really hard, I doubted my faith. I doubted that God had a plan & at some points, I wondered if there was a God at all, He seemed so distant from me. But if we study 📚 our thoughts & certainly study spiritual teachings, we see that this is a human condition. We all feel this way at times. Understanding that seasons of hardship are inevitable in life helps put into perspective nothing is permanent. Having support in hard times is a critical component for mitigating the struggle factor. What kinds of support do you have? I rely on my time with God. Walks in nature. Conversations with loved friends. Reflections of what I already have that I’m grateful for. Faith that there is a force greater than I, and that I am connected to & created by that force…what an amazing truth! Steve Jobs famously said “you can’t connect the dots looking forward”…but imaginally we can. We can imagine a time in the future when everything has worked out, & we see looking back that our struggles & tough times either -taught us something -prepared us for something or -served us in some way. This is sort of my recipe for managing in tough times. I’d love to hear your thoughts, reflections, tools & tips for how you manage! And if you’re reading this in your email, pop on over to the Powerful Creators community & share with others. After all, we rise by lifting others. You never know who your words might help. Wherever you are & however you are, I wish you a blessed day!

I feel like everyone I know is going through a tough time right now and I’m trying to stay really positive but it seems like it’s really hard to stay in a positive mind frame when things are really tough and stressful. What are some things you suggest to do when you’re trying lift your spirits in tough times?

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Is anyone else feeling kinda…meh? These last few days here in Florida the weather has been really yucky-windy, rainy, chilly. I know, no rain no flowers 🪷🪻🌼, but sometimes days on end of overcast skies get me a little down. We also had company visiting, which was great -BUT/AND- our friend has pancreatic cancer, so there were some heavy feelings mixed with the joy of having time to spend together. I noticed today after he & his family left that I just felt very tired, but not necessarily physically. My normal thought process would be to go down this trail of thought about being discouraged. I noticed all of my feelings & thoughts though, so I decided to make a post & just share a little about how I work through down days, or heavy feelings. First, I acknowledge what I’m feeling. I don’t “should” on myself by telling me I “should” feel some other way- I feel what I feel. Second, I do try to think of a gratitude. For example, even though it’s hard to see my friend & his family going through this medical crisis, I am extremely grateful for time we have been able to spend together. Thinking about that, I realized how much extra time our families have had since his diagnosis, as we have all made a point to get together more frequently. That made me think of how grateful I am for these relationships we’ve all built over the years. He & I met in college, but now our spouses & children are friends too. What a blessing! I still don’t feel as perky or motivated as I usually do, but that’s ok. I’m giving myself grace. Finally I will make a point to do something that I know moves me in the direction I want to go in. Today it’s sharing this post, cleaning some things, and I will do 20 pushups…so even though I’m not feeling my best, I can still get in my three things, practice gratitude & give myself grace.

Back at the beginning of the year @Julie Allen & I kinda did this Delulu Challenge. Basically delulu is when you get delusional in the best possible way about what can be possible for you. I created a journal for it & wrote in it daily. Yesterday I was talking to another client about this idea, & I got kind of excited about re-incorporating this into my current daily habits. The pic below is a scripture I love with a pic I printed from our trip to Italy 🇮🇹. I found that creating a beautiful space for my thoughts truly made me want to engage with my journal daily. Mind you I’m not starting something new, I’m just adding back in a step into my daily routine. Instead of getting up, scrolling, reading the news (a surefire way to start your day off on a negative note!), essentially going on autopilot, I start my day with quiet time, Bible study/reflection, and now I’ll put my journal with my Bible so I have easy access to it & I’ll be in my still quiet space. When we get clear on our habits & prioritize those things that actually move the needle towards the best version of us, we WILL see results. Having a space for support is crucial to make this the norm. What habits do you have that support your best self?