THRIVING IN TOUGH TIMES

6 Ways to Thrive in Tough Times

Tough times can bring you to your knees. They can also raise you to new heights.
You can be stressed to the max on a bad day, yet, as long as life
seems manageable, you don’t usually look for new strategies to get
through it.

The tendency is to pull yourself up by the bootstraps,
grit your teeth and keep on going. During prolonged or sudden tough
times, though, normal defense mechanisms are not enough to keep you from
feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed.

It’s when events feel overwhelmingly beyond your control, that you
either find new ways to cope or are pulled down by the undertow. Your
usual defenses are inadequate to protect from overwhelming long-term
stress. Stress can build gradually beyond tolerance level, or a
surprising turn of events like those recently reported in the news can
create the kind of vulnerability that demands openness to change.

The soft inner core of your being feels exposed. This exposure opens
a crack in the old armor through which an opportunity for renewed life
can shine.

Here are six tips that can help you thrive in tough times.

Nourish Yourself – Let go of the bootstraps for a
few moments, acknowledge your stress and be kind to yourself. What
nourishes you — inspirational reading, music, a cup of tea …? Are there
people or places, a favorite chair or spot in nature that provide
sustenance? Make nurturing yourself every day a priority.

Stay Present – Don’t project ahead. Take life one
day, one moment at a time. Tough times are
more manageable when you pay
attention to making decisions and taking action on only the next step.
Fearful preoccupation or worries about dire imagined future
possibilities can leave you open to illness, accidents and errors in
judgment that compound your problems. Scale down, simplify your
activities and concentrate your precious energy supply on only what is
critically important right now.

Accept Support – This can be difficult for people
who prize self-sufficiency. Remember it is as virtuous to receive, as
it is to give. Without the receiver, the giver has no way to share
their abundant gifts. Don’t deprive your friends and family of the
pleasure to help you when you need it. Shared burdens provide
opportunities for enhanced closeness and appreciation for one another.

Trust Your Resilience - Chances are you have been
through tough times before. What natural strengths did you rely upon in
those situations? How did you make it through adolescence, childbirth,
marriage, divorce, school, first job? What are your natural inner
resources? Trust that you have what you need to see this tough time
through.

Visualize Success – See yourself moving into a new
chapter of life. How do you want to write that chapter? Creation
begins in the imagination. If you can think it, you can create it. In
order to be free to dream and hope for something new, you must let go of
old visions, descriptions and limitations of the person you think you
are or can become.

Forgive Past Errors – Forgive past hurts, and people
who may have inflicted them, knowingly or unknowingly. This is not out
of kindness to them, rather out of kindness to you. After all, you are
the one carrying the burden of these hurts. Forgive yourself for
mistakes or paths not taken. Release the burden of the past so you can
travel lighter in the present.

In times of crisis and radical change, remember that living means
growing. I have never seen anything in nature grow backward. So, as
bad as you feel, and as much as you doubt it, if you are alive you are
growing.

Growth is creative. So, take advantage of the opportunity in these
tough times to re-create your life by nourishing yourself, staying
present, accepting support, trusting your resilience, visioning
possibilities and letting go of the past and perceived limitations.

Even though tough times are hard, they can also be the best times to
explore ways to live more harmoniously with yourself and others.
2009 Aila Accad

http://evolutionezine.com/stress-buster/
BLESSINGS TO MY DINAR DAILY FRIENDS -- UNEEK

Uneek...very good advise!!!

I hope you have a wonderful day!

Enjoy!!!!

Good words to live by daily, Thanks uneek, good stuff.

AWESOME post!

Good Morning Horizon & Rick & Punisher -- Tis a beautiful Fantastic Friday for sure !!

Hummmm Horizon the cup of warm Hot Cocoa looks wonderful -- I have not had breakfast yet and it is approaching lunch time -- guess I will go with a light lunch of steamed broccoli and buttered garlic rice -- or save that for later and just have a quick banana sandwich -- lol

Thanks for the comments -- This is the sort of thing I have on my forum -- I have others but really meditate over posting to feel comfortable about them fitting in -- I do not expect everyone to embrace everything that I post - but do hope for them to be helpful to many - I appreciate the opportunity to share what I have learned over many years of reading and researching -

will add more as time permits -- UNEEK