Do you want to be more thick skinned? Be less sensitive, perhaps? Question this. Can you foresee your circumstances tomorrow? Next month or next year? How can you prepare, in advance, to go through life’s ups and downs, with all the emotional highs and lows? Consider these five tips:
1. When you are presented with a difficulty, look for the opportunity to figure out what the challenge is telling you and the next best steps to take.
Letting yourself face difficulty today could be necessary, so you can find the perspective and drive to live your life with greater enthusiasm tomorrow. With that in mind, sadness or a tough time might be more worth it than you thought, as hard as that may be to hear. Dr. Maya Angelou, American poet and civil rights activist, once said, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” We move forward in life for the opportunity to have our next breath taken away. Not only do we crave to be excited, filled with joy, proud as ever or in awe of another’s spirit and impact, we wish it could happen all the time. Figuring out those next best steps to take after a down moment or after getting through a rough time can help you get another chance to have your breath taken away.
2. Work to fulfill your dreams, in order to maintain satisfaction and sustain motivation. Knowing you are on the right track can help you waver less in the face of difficulty.
Do you have life goals, let alone dreams? Or are you going through the routine of life without considering what makes you especially satisfied? Consider this. Dr. Angelou said, “If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities.” Your emotional resilience feeds off of your passion and willpower. By working towards the right goals and dreams for you, your emotional strength can be invigorated repeatedly and often. From time to time, you may feel pressed, but your passion can keep you thick skinned while the right ‘luck’ can help you transform others’ ‘realities.’
3. In times of difficulty, rely on others who know you the best, and whose support matters to you.
While having faith in yourself matters tremendously, from time to time we may need reinforcement from those around us in order to continue persevering. Surrounding ourselves with positive, strong figures is critical, whose support we can feel and genuinely be motivated by.
4. Be easy on yourself. Life can be unpredictable.
Going easy, or similarly practicing self-compassion, is important because we can’t expect to always succeed at all that we do. Congratulating ourselves for effort might mean treating one out to a spa adventure or to a handful of flowers. Consider self-compassion a necessity when you feel stressed out, especially. Take time to care, and tell yourself that you do, often.
5. Stay humble if you feel rewarded often.
Celebrating success, of yours and others, can be a great feeling. However, remember to stay humble if you are repeatedly rewarded perhaps with success, compliments or money even. Such rewards can be fleeting, and temporary, as well, so it might be wise to leave bragging behind should this apply to you. Hopefully, you are blessed with humility and success often. If so, try to help others as much as possible. Remember, as has been said before, “The best feeling of happiness is when you’re happy because you’ve made somebody else happy.”
Consider these 5 tips to building emotional strength in the face of struggles that you may face. Acknowledging and reminding yourself that everyone feels emotional ups and downs is wise, can help you feel connected in times of difficulty, and can help remind you that you are human, which is important in maintaining humility. Remember to ‘be easy on yourself,’ and continue to give yourself perspective and new steps to take.