When Life Starts To Feel Difficult, Try Doing These 5 Things
Whatever you’re going through in life right now, know that there is another way to see it.
By 
Matt Wilks
Recently, I’ve felt as though life has been challenging and stressful for me. In the past, it would hurt to admit this to myself. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to truly believe that there is strength in vulnerability and courage in acceptance. Today, I admit to the Universe that I’ve been struggling, but more importantly, that I’m willing to work through it by facing my pain and accepting how I’m feeling.
But with all that being said, I’ve also decided to flip my perspective and offer five things to remember when life gets difficult. Because remember, we’re all human at the end of the day, and we all feel all of life’s colors. There’s no shame in that. What matters most is not avoiding the difficulties of life but changing your perspective about them in a way that serves you best. So without further ado, let’s get into it.
1. Change The Way You See Things.
Whatever you’re going through in life right now, know that there is another way to see it. You can either choose to suffer or choose to find the beauty in it all. But we cannot have both. Whenever I find myself in difficult times where I feel the world is on my shoulders, I always try to remind myself to change the pair of glasses that I am choosing to see the world from. Often, when we’re in a negative headspace, it is only coming from the lens we are seeing it all from. Granted, it is one of the most difficult things to do when you’re in a negative headspace. But at the very same time, life is beautiful and there’s good all around you. You just have to be aware enough to pay attention to what’s good.
2. Remember That Everything Is Temporary.
No matter what you are going through right now, time and life are always temporary. What matters today will rarely matter in a month from now. What we worry and stress about in this moment will be most likely forgotten in another. It’s so important to remind ourselves of this fact, as we often subconsciously feel stuck in our present realities. But rather than perpetuate a constant cycle of what is, we can instead realize that both time and life will pass. Nothing is permanent, and rather than resist and allow what’s going on to persist, we can choose to see that everything is temporary, including what is going on in our lives right now.
3. Talk To Those That You Care About Most.
Something I’ve come to rely on is the people that I love the most. I’ve always been someone that’s stubborn and loves to handle things on my own. But I’ve also learned that leaning into those that care about you the most is perhaps the best thing you can do when you’re feeling down. It’s difficult to be vulnerable and show weakness to the ones that you love. But if you’re brave enough to do so, you will not only have the opportunity to get what’s hurting you off of your chest, but it also gives you the opportunity to create a deeper and more fulfilling connection with those that mean the most to you. Do not be afraid to show your true colors and what you’re truly feeling. We all go through hardships in our life, and there’s no shame in that!
4. Lean Into Your Passion.
As I write this now, I am leaning more into the thing that makes me feel the most alive: writing. When you lean into your passion, your passion will always become your safe place to let go, be free, and live in alignment with your true self. If you don’t know what your passion is yet, then no worries! There is no better time to dedicate time to yourself than when you’re feeling off and things feel hard in your life. Some of the best growth in life happens when we’re in pain and I can personally speak to this notion, as I happened to find writing after a hard breakup a few years ago.
5. Allow Yourself To Feel Your Emotions.
So often in life, we hide away from our pain and the emotions that we’re feeling. We bottle them up and take them with us wherever we go and with whomever we’re with. But although it’s painful, it’s so important that we allow ourselves to feel the pain so we can wholeheartedly move forward from it. Right now, as much as it hurts, I am allowing myself to feel the pain of going through something difficult. I’m allowing myself to feel uncomfortable so I can let it go when the time is right. Life has a funny way of working out, and if we accept the present moment and use what is currently happening in our lives to better ourselves with who we authentically are, then this moment that you’re feeling right now will be critical to your journey. It will be the moment that everything changed for the better in your life.
