Tough times and a tough life

Dear Bloggers,



Tough times happen to all of us. No matter how strong or powerful or confident we are, tough times will come: viciously forcing their might on us, causing us to crumble. As mighty as we can feel one day, we can feel just as lost and scared the next.

I don’t say this to cause fear, I say it because it’s unfortunately the truth. The hardest part of tough times is not to lose hope. And even though it isn't easy you have to carry on.

I’ve felt trapped like being under a pile of rubble, no light seeping through, and the rescue workers weren’t coming to save me. It’s a feeling mixed with loss, fear and deflated dreams.

The amazing thing about life (and I’m never going to understand how) is that as long as you’re breathing, you still have a small chance to survive. I don’t care whether you think it’s God, the Universe, or a couple of alien civilizations playing games with us, you always have a chance.

Understand why You are experiencing tough times, But be grateful for what you still have. Yes it sounds easier then it ever will be.

Telling you to be grateful is almost starting to sound cliche. Everybody says it, yet not a lot of people take the time to do it. It’s easy to get lost in cluttered thoughts filled with tumbled-down hope and feel sorry for ourselves, so I understand why we generally don’t make the effort to be grateful. 

But being grateful really helps. It pulls you back into the present moment, allowing you to put your troubles on the back burner, even if it’s for just a short time. It doesn’t matter how you choose to be grateful. You can write out ten things right now you’re grateful for. You can sing to the heavens all the beautiful aspects of your life. You can take a big, giant breath, hold it for ten seconds, give it a powerful exhale and yell, “Yes! I’m grateful for this breath.”

I don’t care, just be grateful, period. If you’re struggling to come up with anything, remember you are, in fact, still alive. That won’t last forever, so take extreme advantage of it.

Remember all the previous tough times You’ve battled through and how You got out of them

You’ve been through your fair share of tough times, am I right? I thought so.

What I find interesting is that you’re still here. You made it through your past tough times even when they probably felt a lot similar to the tough time you’re experiencing right now. Why should this tough time be any different?

Think back for a moment. What positively helped you through? Was it a book, friend, or a family member???? Go back to what helped you through the last tough time. Was there something you did that helped? Just revisit that.

Personally, Bob Marley’s music has always helped me during my tough bouts. It calms me, puts me in a more hopeful mood. But I can get so lost in my struggles sometimes that I forget about Bob’s music. It’s not until I’m proactive about my struggles that I tap into past sources of inspiration and guidance.

Embrace your tough times and explore what options exist to create an even better life. 

 

During tough times you simply can’t give up, ever. Even during the toughest times you must keep your hopes alive by pushing through. Work on what needs to get done, try and build some momentum, and then build on it further.

The last thing you should be doing is quitting, which I slightly hesitate to say because there are some very good reasons to quit sometimes. If You will give up everything is lost.

If you’re passionate about what you want to do, then don’t quit.
If you’re losing your life because of it, well, you don’t have to quit, but take a break from it and get your life back together.
One of my little secrets with my writing is that I write out of my heart and not out of fear. I’m not scared to death every time I type up a story. 

Am I going to make enough money to survive the coming month together with my family, my wife, our kids and our dogs? Is anybody going to even read this one? Is what I’m writing worthwhile, or is it hogwash? Yes my little list of insecure questions goes on and on. 

Somehow I cannot figure out if I do this for fun or do I hope that I will be discovered and earn some cash this way?

If you have been out on a rough sea, you can deal with this tough times as well. So just always keep your head up, believe in yourself, and take life head on.

The Old Sailor,