J.J. Robinson

What To Do When Life Beats You Down

F*%$#!!!!

Phew – okay, got that out of my system… now let’s deal with this.

---

If you’re like me, that sudden urge to internally (or externally) scream has been a common occurrence lately. Life has been one heck of a brutal partner on this journey we call an existence. Curve-ball after curve-ball it has been exhausting and sometimes it seems like it will never end.

Fortunately, and this can be a difficult thing to remember and truly believe, but life… it goes on – as Robert Frost says.

---

As the old saying goes, “time heals all wounds”. While this may be true for some, it is not necessary true for all – but, that is okay!

Many believe and would maybe prefer that all of our tough times become things of the past – but that is unrealistic. While we are all unique beings, our problems are not. Thus, it is important to understand that it is okay to be struggling to overcome the same hard time that another has dealt with quickly.

Instead, I prefer to look at each difficult time or traumatic event as a way to learn. Whether this learning comes in the form of finding ways to mitigate or building up resilience for the future – the most important part is to learn from our experiences and remember that the sun shall shine again.

A quote that I let live rent free in my mind comes from Beth Moore: “I’m better off healed than I ever was unbroken.”

The quote, when I think about it, is true all around. Our experiences shape who we are and who we become. Hard times are one of the best teachers because it not only tells us what we need to do to become better, but it also teaches us what not to do.

Reflecting on who I was a year ago and who I am now after all the bullshit life has thrown at me recently, I’m far more resilient and capable of navigating through to the light at the end of the tunnel.

That being said, I am not perfect and I do have moments where I fall down a pit and completely forget everything I’ve written here today. But, we’re all human. We all have these blips in our mind that requires us to do a bit of a reboot to re-calibrate.

One method I use to help move this process along is to re-frame my perspective. It may seem counter-intuitive at first glance, but softly remind yourself of what you have overcome in the past. All of that chaos endured and yet – here you still are. It will install confidence back into your mind that can help to see the issue at hand in a different light – a manageable one.

You will be able to realize that this is just another hurdle and if you were able to get over the previous ones, you can do so with this one – better.