Things in life can get hard. This is normal to experience. The key is how you respond to hardships. You can let them run your life and change who you are as a person. Or you can learn how to keep going in life, healthily cope with stress, and continue to lead a fulfilling life. You cannot always control what is going to happen in life, but when you know how to cope and respond to things when they get hard, then you will find it is a much smoother journey.
Hard things come in many forms. This might be becoming a new parent, a career change, moving to another country, or just dealing with family issues. The list is endless. But when you are secure in yourself and know how to handle situations, it won’t matter what hits you in life.
Hard situations are always going to change you in one way or another. But you want to make sure they don’t negatively change you. You want to be able to keep the core of who you are, as well as use hardships to help you learn and grow.
To help you on your journey, here are some things you should consider to help you deal with hard things and not change the person that you are in the process.
Consider how you cope with situations
How you cope with hard situations is important. Reflect on some difficult situations in the past, or even anticipate some in the future, and consider what steps you usually take. Do you avoid situations? Do you turn to drugs or alcohol? There are many different ways that people cope with a situation. You must consider how you cope, so you can learn to change these into more positive coping mechanisms. Learning how to face a situation is one thing, but if you cope with drugs, then you may want to consider professional support. There are plenty of options out there, including a virtual outpatient treatment that can make it easier to seek support. Make sure you don’t try to do things alone or all at once. Once you have dealt with negative coping mechanisms, you can learn how to incorporate positive skills for when hard things arise.
Create a support network
Support is key to getting through hard times. While you might want to overcome things alone, you will only be able to go so far. It will completely consume you and that is where you begin to negatively change as a person and engage in negative coping mechanisms. Consider who in your life you can build a bond with and begin to trust with help and support. You can also seek support via professionals such as a therapist or group activities such as a hobby.
Learn to set boundaries and care for yourself
You need to learn how to care for yourself. If you can do this in general, then you will know what works and what you can do to negate anything bad when hardships arise. Boundaries are also really key to looking after yourself and dealing with hard situations. They can ensure that you protect yourself and don’t engage with something more than necessary.
Hard things will always occur in life. Reflect on how you currently deal with these and what positive changes you can make. This will have a huge impact on your happiness.
