When Times Are Hard, How Do You Help Yourself? Here Are Some Ideas For You

When times are hard, it's easy to think that things will never change.

Life grinds to a halt.

Everything feels more difficult, and the everyday necessities of life may often feel like impossible tasks to accomplish.

Maybe it's a friend who is going through a difficult transition. Or maybe you or a family member have received bad news.

Whatever the specifics, when times are hard you are challenged on many fronts and tend to feel jarred and jostled off track.

What do you do when times are hard?
Hard times affect your energy, your feelings, and they also affect both the choices you make about your time ADN how you feel about time, in general.

What if you're feeling the pinch, economically? Maybe you lost your job, or business is slow. Economic constraints affect the range of time choices that feel available or accessible to you. Things like vacations, new educational pursuits, or new appliances may not even make it to your consciousness.

Instead, you pull back and pull in.

And what about feelings?
When times are hard, it's easy to allow worries to gnaw at you. This is a big, and very challenging time trap. Not only does it rob you of precious time, but it also saps your energy and creativity right when you need them most.

So, a key time choice is to recognize the debilitating effect of this and use self-talk, time boundaries, and self-discipline to turn your mind away from nagging anxieties.

Consider replacing worry-time with self-care time. Plugging in a positive where a negative had taken root shifts your energy and will do you a world of good.

Or, try picturing your worries as weeds that sprout up in hard times. Next, make a conscious choice to uproot worries by slowing down and focusing on ways to simplify and declutter your life.

Whenever you do this, you alter your experience of time. That's because simplification expands and deepens your experience of your moments, much as silence and stillness do. And in that expansive place, needless worries lose their power.

Gratitude, no matter what...
Finally, whatever challenges life brings your way, an attitude of gratitude will carry you through. Know that you have the capacity to pause in ANY moment and think of something for which you feel genuinely grateful. I guarantee that your energy and your moment will be transformed whenever you make that choice for yourself.

So, are you or a loved one facing hard times right now? Step back for a moment and consider: How does this affect your time and your self-care choices?

Would you like to be able to approach this differently?

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