Even the hardest days contain lessons that will help you be a better
person. Feeling down? Consider these things to remember when you’re
having a bad day.
1. No one promised life would be perfect.
“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.” -Leo Tolstoy
Don’t condition your happiness on meeting every expectation you set
for yourself. It is good to be ambitious, but you’ll never be perfect.
If you expect otherwise, your life will be rife with disappointments.
2. Success doesn’t happen overnight.
“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” -Molière
Don’t kid yourself into thinking success will come quickly. It isn’t
easy to be patient, but anything worth doing requires time (often, lots
of it!). If you get frustrated, remind yourself why your goal is
important.
3. There is a lesson in every struggle.
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you
made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure,
whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you
come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.
That’s what this storm’s all about.”
-Haruki Murakami
Don’t complain about how terrible your life is. It is tempting to do,
but stressing out won’t make you feel any better. If you search for the
lesson in your present struggle, you’ll be able to make positive
changes that would prevent similar situations in the future.
4. Without hard times, you wouldn’t appreciate the good ones.
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles
develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to
surrender, that is strength.” -Arnold Schwarzenegger
Don’t get sad if you lose. It is hard to find much to smile about
when you fail, but how else would you improve yourself? If you look at
failure as a part of your evolutionary process, you’ll stay positive and
pursue your goals for as long as it takes.
5. It’s okay to cry sometimes.
“Do not apologize for crying. Without this emotion, we are only robots.” -Elizabeth Gilbert
Don’t be afraid of crying. It isn’t a sign of weakness, but rather an
acceptable way to let go of your upset feelings. If you let those
feelings build up without release, you’ll have a much harder time
dealing with them later.
6. It’s not okay to worry forever.
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” -Corrie ten Boom
Don’t worry about everything. It is human nature to obsess with all
the things that could go wrong, but this will result in a self-inflicted
mental nightmare. If you forget about the things you can’t control,
you’ll be empowered to to concentrate on the things you can.
7. No one’s life is as picturesque as it looks.
“How much time he gains who does not look to see what his
neighbor says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to
make it just and holy.” -Marcus Aurelius
Don’t compare your life to what another person reflects online. It is
okay to interact with your friends online, but don’t believe everything
you see. If you feel like your life pales in comparison, realize that
you are comparing yourself to a highlight reel of their lives.
8. It takes courage to ask for help.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?” -Martin Luther King Jr.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help. It is tough to put yourself in a
vulnerable position, but opening up to a friend will help you deal with
your troubles. If you feel like a burden, remember that no one would
have achieved much if they didn’t ask for support when they needed it.
9. You deserve love and happiness.
“Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be.” -Abraham Lincoln
Think of something you are thankful for right now. It could be the
cup of coffee you had this morning, the sweet puppy you’ll be going home
to tonight, or the healthy set of eyes that allowed you to read this
article. It’s so easy to lose sight of these little things when we’re
upset. I challenge you to break that trend. The next time you get upset,
think about something that makes you happy. Repeat this behavior until
it becomes second nature. Your negative thoughts will have no power over
you if you learn to stop lingering on them.
Jay Z and Beyonce secretly
attended a private event last week ... and it's significant because
it's the most authentic evidence so far that they're still very much a
couple.
