5 Simple Steps To Help You Overcome Even Your Worst Days

Remind yourself that you’re not sucking at life as much as you think. Everyone knows that starting out in any career is hard. Life in general is tough. Some careers are more difficult in the beginning than others, especially in your 20s. Adulting…am I right?

No matter what career or lifestyle you’re pursuing, creating the foundation upon which the rest of your adult years will rest on can be overwhelming, confusing, maddening and lonely. Rest assured that this feeling is not permanent.

I’m telling you this mostly because I needed to hear it. Reminding myself on a regular basis that what I am experiencing currently doesn’t have to be permanent is what is getting me through. Feeling unsure, indecisive, afraid of a misstep or making changes are all part of the challenge you’ve taken on.

Starting off in the film industry is just as hard as a million other fields of work, so I won’t pretend like I am different or special, just simply overwhelmed by life. Similarly to most
of my piers, I am freaking out on a regular basis, stressed, broke, a little lost, and telling myself that the beginning is always the hardest part.

Here are some tips that are holding my sanity in tact. They just might work for you too.

1. You don’t have all of the answers.

This one was difficult for me. I like to think I have handle on my life most times, when in reality nobody in their 20s really does. We’re all faking it a little bit. In the beginning it’s easy once we get past the first few hills to think that we’ve figured some stuff out.

Though we aren’t as new and naive as we were initially, we still don’t know it all.

2. It’s okay to ask for help.

Sometimes we feel now that we are professionals and adults that we should know exactly what we’re doing and be able to do it on our own. This isn’t the case 100 percent of the time. Though we ought to try to be self sufficient that doesn’t exclude the guidance and assistance from people who have been where we have before. A huge piece of advice I receive on a regular basis from my mentors is to seek out advice earlier on.

Asking for help or advice is a good way to try to avoid mistakes that can be prevented. Finding a friend to confide in or a mentor who can help guide you when you don’t know it all is a great way to avoid becoming an island. When you isolate yourself by thinking you can do it all alone, you’re ignoring some incredible advice from outside sources that can help you make more informed decisions.

3. Find positive and inspiring role models.

The same way that finding mentors to help guide you can help to more efficiently navigate your career and life path, finding people who you look up to is a great way to stay on track. Keeping goals in mind can seem exponentially easier when you remember that someone else has already achieved the same, or a similar thing that you want. It’s totally possible for you to do so too!

Following the lead of successful entrepreneurs is a wonderful way to find inspiration for your own success.

4. Set goals.

Getting off track is easier than ever in this technology age. We spend time doing everything other than what we are supposed to be doing, like trolling our ex on Instagram or Snapchatting until four in the morning. Then we realize once we are too far down the rabbit hole that we are completely off track. Setting goals and timelines for when you would like to achieve those goals is a solid start to staying on track. If you suck at remembering things or planning ahead, put calendar reminders in your phone or weekly reminders to get things done. That’s exactly how I keep writing this blog, by my lord and savior- iCalendar. Praise be.

5. Chill out and enjoy the ride.

I can’t tell you how many people tell me to chill out on a regular basis. Some of us have the curse of always planning ahead and we forget to look around in the moment. Starting out is crappy at times and yes, it is easy to want to keep your head down and get through the hard times. I employ this method more often than not. A mentor of mine recently pointed out that you can’t forget to have fun every once in a while or else you’ll get burnt out. Being burnt out doesn’t lead to achieving goals, productivity or success. It leads to a lack of sleep, stress and again, making yourself into an island.

Having a work-life balance is absolutely essential to success. No matter how difficult I personally think it is to follow the aforementioned advice, I will continue to strive to chill the frick out and remember that this period in my life won’t last forever. Whatever you’re going through now is temporary and if you want to see it change, keep working at it and in time it will.

Remember that you are building the foundation for your future and it will be worth it. Your hard work will pay off eventually. There is no guarantee that things will go exactly as you’ve planned, since life has a way of messing with even the best laid plans, but hard work always pays off in the long run.