Ever had a friend or a pastor or someone try to encourage you while you're going through? And then have you ever told them (perhaps quietly in your head) "easy for you to say!" Going through a struggle, whatever it may be, is never pleasant. Everything perhaps does look dismal and like there's no end in sight. At this time, when it's hard to be and think positive, is ironically the time in your life that you
need to be positive.
I write these blogs everyday and I may perhaps come across as though I've got every area of my life together. If you only knew! I think sometimes I write just as much for my own benefit as I hopefully do to yours. One day when I can speak of my circumstance in the past tense, I'll share my story. I choose not to focus on my struggles because as I mentioned in a previous post, whatever you focus on will magnify.
I think it's important to know how to encourage oneself because we are the only ones that truly know how it feels to go through what we're going through. I personally prefer to get counseled by someone who's walked a mile in my shoes so to speak, because their words become more than mere words, they're a living testimony that things do get better. So in the event that we can't find someone who's words will turn our frown upside-down, we need to be that person, be your own best friend.
Below are 5 tips I've searched, used and found helpful:
- Listen to your favorite music (not somber ballads, but up-beat, feel-good music)
- Watch a comedy or sitcom
- Read a "feel-good" book or magazine
- Do something you LOVE to do (knitting, gardening, yoga, anything that can be "therapeutic")
- Eat your favorite dish, snack or candy (be careful with this one as I'm not encouraging to indulge in an unhealthy manner as this won't solve your problem, but add another instead. However the occasional chocolate bar or slice of pie, at the right moment, does plenty for my body & soul, lol).
These are just some things that can lift your spirits so that you can now, with a positive frame of mind, face your problems. In no way shape or form will this solve your problems, but at least it puts us in a position to be encouraged and feel that "this too shall pass".
