Life is a constant flow of emotional highs and lows and there’s no doubt you will have periods in your life when things won’t go your way.
While most of our time is spent in the level fields of emotional normalcy, there are definitely times when we experience the peaks of amazing times and the valleys where nothing seems to be going right.
While hardly anyone ever seeks information on how to deal with the best moments of their lives, handling the lows can be a difficult task. Today we live in very unsettling times where people throughout the world are being affected in many profound and very real ways – there are ongoing global pandemics, there’s political extremism, racism, climate change and on some days these can all feel ‘too big’ and scary.
While there are things you can’t control, you CAN control yourself and your mindset. And there are things you can do to maintain a positive and even joyful mindset.
Here are three tips to help you:
Surround Yourself With The Right People
You may have heard this quote before:
You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re hanging with the turkeys.” – Gary Kent
Or, what about this one?
“You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” a quote attributed most often to motivational speaker Jim Rohn.
For both these quotes, the intent is the same. Assess the people around you and make sure you’re spending time with like-minded people who raise your standards. That’s especially important when going through a challenging period. It’s really easy to retreat into your own solitude and block people out when you’re going through a difficult time, however, when you’re in a really low spot, robbed of your joy, connecting with those who lift you up is so important.
Although it may seem obvious, avoiding people who have the opposite effect can sometimes be the real battle. Negative Nellies should be banned from your life especially when you’re already facing a challenging time.
Remember, Nothing Is Permanent
It’s hard to believe that we’re rapidly approaching the end of another year! Time doesn’t stand still for anyone or anything, and nothing in life is permanent.
During the lockdowns the bible quote ‘This too shall pass,’ (2 Corinthians 4: 17-18) was often used and reminds us that whatever situation we are currently going through in life, it is temporary and will change.
Time is often the only remedy for tough situations. If you want to maximise your joy during difficult times, remember that your situation is not the way things will always be. They are just this way RIGHT NOW.
Base Your Happiness On Yourself
If you want to have joy on a consistent basis, your joy absolutely cannot be dictated by your circumstances. Joy and happiness don’t have to look like a fairytale, instead recognise the innate greatness of the world around you and be grateful for nature, people, laughter, sunshine, smiles, wind, the waves, noise, the birds…
You experience happiness when you allow yourself to be content and grateful in your true self and when you are the master of your own contentment and joy. Consistent, stable and sustainable joy can only be created and found within.
Remember, life is far less about what happens to you than it is how you react to it. You are in control of how you feel.
Our bonus tip…
Research shows that people who spend a lot of time on social media, experience increased anxiety and decreased self-esteem. Watching everybody’s supposed fabulous fun-filled life or achievements unravel on your feed causes ‘comparisonitis’ and tends to make you unhappy about your very real accomplishments.
And, always remember that the mainstream media needs continual crises to dramatise their news – it’s what drives their viewership. Their manipulation and biased news reports are often sensationilised so that you keep tuning in.
So, our bonus tip! Limit your time on social and mainstream media.