Tips for staying focused during difficult times.
Life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes the difficulty is personal in nature, and sometimes it’s environmental. Divorces, deaths and many things happen in life, including storms, illness and more that we have no control over.
The truth is, there are not many things that we do have control over, but we do have control over how we respond. Here are some ideas to help you focus when you find yourself confronted with difficult situations.
Give yourself a break. Take a deep breath and just give yourself a break. You’re allowed to have bad days and feel like crap. It’s part of being human. We are emotional beings.
Feel into your emotions. Rather than passing them off or ignoring your feelings, allow yourself to acknowledge your feelings. Part of mindfulness practice is the ability to observe your emotions and then acknowledge them so you can let them pass.
Maintain positive habits. During hard times, sometimes the things that serve us best are the first things we let go. It’s important when things get a little difficult to focus on good sleep habits, eat well and exercise regularly. This doesn’t mean you have to have 8 hours of sleep each night, eat super clean and hit the gym everyday. Think about the 80/20 rule and focus on sticking to regular sleep times, eating well through the week, drinking lots of water and getting out for a walk at least 30 minutes every day.
Be mindful. It’s easy to get distracted when your emotions are affected by what is happening in your life and your world. You can limit the impact of your external world on your emotions and your productivity by focusing internally. Taking just 5 minutes in the morning or evening to sit quietly and breathe consciously will help to centre you to what is happening right here right now. Remember any time you focus on the external world, you give away your energy and your power to remain calm, focused and able to get on with what needs to be done in the present moment.
Keep a gratitude journal. When things are bad, it’s hard to feel like anything will ever be okay again. However, most of the time, you can find some things that are at least okay about your day, if not something to be outright grateful for now. Finding gratitude for the good things in your life will lesson the impact of the difficulties you are facing.
Get rid of distractions. Turn off your phone, social media, and the radio or TV when you’re doing certain activities. If you need to focus on it, don’t do other things during it. Even listening to music can cause you to miss out on essential points. Anything worth doing is worth doing 100 percent.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you are having trouble controlling your thoughts and nothing you try is working after a few days, you may want to ask for help. Counsellors and even life coaches can help you through difficult times so that you can focus on the other things that are important to you too.
Remember that
“Our focus is our future and what we focus on will multiply in our life.”
or in the words of Brian Tracy, the best-selling author and motivational speaker:
“The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we DESIRE, not on things we FEAR.”
A life well-lived is going to have difficult times. The rollercoaster of life is what makes it exciting, and it’s how we learn. Going through hard things helps you grow. You feel new emotions, try new things, and come out better for the experience, even if it felt impossible while it was happening. Everything ends eventually, and you can get through difficult times without losing focus on what is important to you. As you go about your day ask yourself..
How do I succeed during difficult times?
Sit with this question and see what comes up for you.
Until next time,
Take care. David.