2019-03-28
sad man in pain
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Horrible drivers, coffee on your white blouse, wearing your shirt inside out at the office and the annoying neighbor who constantly parks their over-sized junker on the lawn. OMG, give us a break or better yet--welcome to life. We can make fun of our situations or weep over our morning coffee. Yes, things can really make you crazy and if you don't want to be a scapegoat of the mass chaos, you better be equipped--or be crushed. Don't allow things to squeeze all the life and potential from you. However, in the midst of suffering we often feel shortchanged by life or maybe by God. Take a moment to restrategize on how to deal with the ridiculousness life and how to handle what it throws at us.

You boxed yourself in.

Life is about taking risks and we lose that along the way because of pressures, failures, disappointments and setbacks. Psychologically, our brains benefit from mistakes, but only if we let them. You can shutdown or tackle the problem by trying to solve it. If we don't choose to move forward, we end up in a rut, never to find our slice of happiness.

Laugh it off.

Sometimes you need to just laugh because stress will kill you. Stress has been linked to high blood pressure, weight gain and depression. When you laugh, your body releases endorphins. These are brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters and they make you feel happy. These compounds act like a natural anti-depressant. But how does this work? When you laugh, you trick the brain into releasing those feel-good chemicals.
Even when things become complicated, try an artificial laugh, it could help.

Ditch the labels.

Get rid of the labels that you put on yourself people like “stupid,” “fat,” or whatever negative words you spoke over your life. This will take time, but go through those adverse words and break them off your life when you're having a bad week at home or at work by using positive declarations. There will be moments where things can become fierce in life, but reprimanding yourself will only add further fuel to the fire. If you are drowning in a mental mess, turn to Psalm 94. Verse 19 said, “When anxiety is great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” God doesn’t promise that every day will be cheery, but we can tap into the Word to help encourage us.

Find acceptance.

You need to accept that both success and failure is a part of life. This is when we need to become more compassionate towards ourselves. "The dynamic process of life—trying, succeeding, failing, and trying again—is the only way to develop lasting confidence in ourselves," Jennifer Kunst, Ph.D. wrote. The worst thing we can do is be harsh with ourselves. Every person has to be introduced to their true selves. It’s the heart of your deepest desires, the divine patterns in your life and relationships that help show us who we are. Go somewhere without distractions for self-reflection and embrace who you are. You are good, go ahead and love and forgive your shortcomings. Focus your thoughts on how far you have come over the years and on all your accomplishments.
Make the decision to not allow life to make you self-loath.

Appreciate the good things.

Why can’t life become sweet, simple and just fun all the time? We all over complicate things in our lives, and frankly, we are to blame for many of our circumstances. Recognizing the good and receiving it with gratitude is a useful way to deal with the craziness, however. Being thankful will give you a peace of mind, which regulates your mood. The subject of gratitude has been studied for years by psychologists and they found it lowers aggression and helps depression. When you wake up, enjoy your favorite tea or coffee. Take notice of nature or the stillness of the morning. Overall, having a grateful perspective will help you deal with life better.

Try disconnecting.

Mahatma Gandhi said people need to pace themselves. "There is more to life than increasing its speed," he wisely advised. Let's take this to heart in order to enjoy life and find restoration. Take a few moments to be still and just be quiet. Breathe, pray and be thankful for where you are at the moment. When we can finally slow down, we can hear our inner voice clearer and louder. If there is constant movement in your life, you will always be fatigued. This makes you more defenseless against stress and will decrease the stamina to fight battles, even the little ones like being stuck behind a slow driver. If you don't, life will run you over and will not look back.

As we move ahead through the ridiculousness of life, we can find spots of happiness, but we have to push ourselves sometimes to ascertain them. Helen Keller said that peace and success need to come from you. “Your success and happiness lie in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties."
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