10 Life Hacks to Slay Hard Times

Life is like a roller coaster ride, full of it’s own ups and downs. Some days, life seems all joyful, exciting and charming, that’s worth living, other days it’s none other than gloomy, tough and difficult to go through. However, there’s nothing in life that can’t be passed away as everyone says ‘this too shall pass and that nothing is permanent, not even hard, difficult days’. If someone is facing hard times, they must believe that it’s just a regular, testing phase and it shall pass soon, same goes with the good times. That’s why the saying goes like: live and cherish every memory of life by living it to the fullest as if there’s no tomorrow.

Hard time is a great tutor that could undoubtedly teach a number of valuable lessons to each individual and makes them tough and bold. It’s the tough times that make a person realise their own true worth or capability to endure any hard times with great power and beliefs. It’s the hard times that make a person feel grateful for the joyful moments and value each one of them in a more positive manner.

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Here is a list of ten ways that could help a person overcome hard times in life if practiced carefully and in a proper way:

1. Have a positive growth mind-set:

It’s very important to have a positive mind-set with a tendency to grow no matter what and a flexible thinking mind while facing hard times. Think positively and look for possible solutions that could help a person get through difficult, hard times in life instead of just focussing on negative side and ranting about how things aren’t working in order or going as once carefully planned.

Stop sabotaging and being a critic in every situation and try to look on the bright side with a fresh new and challenging perspective. Positive mind-set and affirmations could do wonders during tough situations and helps a person smoothly pass through it. Positive mind-set doesn’t just develops all of a sudden, it takes time and one’s efforts. Be resilient and see the change in oneself and the situation.

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2. Practice mindfulness and meditations:

Hard times surely interferes with the person’s mental health condition and destroys it. Tough times more often limits a person’s true capacity to face any challenges of life and the power of thinking rationally in a given situation. Hence, it is great to meditate once or twice in a while to keep oneself calm and sane and endure any life challenges.

It also provides opportunity to overcome hard times by coming up with a great possible solution of the problem in hand. Practicing mindfulness helps a person to stay in the present and focussing on the moment itself without worrying about the past or uncertain future, just focussing and living the present moment as it is. It provides a wider image of the problem and helps overcome it with a better, more focused solution.

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3. Ask for help and help others as well:

There’s no problem in asking for help when needed during hard challenging times. Similarly, be a helping hand when others need some sort of support while facing tough, hard to pass situations. In order to get out from hard times, discuss problems with others and ask for possible situations to overcome it. It’s Better two(a great, wise company) than one alone facing the adverse situations. Also, when an individual helps the other person in need of it during their hard times, it comes back in unexpected ways when one themselves are in need of it. Helping someone and getting to know that because of oneself, someone is able to get through his or her tough times makes oneself happier and more confident. It even strengthens ones bond and trust in each other over time.

4. Feel each emotion as it may come:

Feeling every emotion without being judgemental towards them is a great way of acceptance and recovery. Hard times comes with their own spectrum of emotions and facing them is a huge challenge. Masking or hiding the true intentions and feelings only makes the condition worse and slow to get through with. It may even impact ones mental as well as physical health. So, instead of ignoring and suppressing the varied emotions, feel them and let them pass through the body and mind. Be gentle and kind. Face them and if needed ask for the required support by professionals.

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Writing in a journal about the feelings truly is a great, effective method of feeling and letting them pass without causing much trouble. Once the emotions of a person gets sorted, tough times don’t seem like a huge problem that can’t be dealt with and one could come up with a better solution as now they are no more a prisoner of their emotions or are emotional fool. Feeling emotions make oneself stronger and wiser.

5. Keep planning ahead:

Planning for the future by considering the present in mind is a great way to overcome tough times when it arrives. When someone is confused or uncertain about the future, planning helps uncover a new path for the person to follow and provides with a problem solving approach. However, too much planning isn’t of much help either.

Try to use the same previously used solutions that once helped overcame the tough times and ask if they are worthy of being used once again for present hard times. Having a future plan, even a rough one, could help a person overthink less and predict future with slight certainty.

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6. Take action on time:

A person could think of multiple reasons and solutions that could help them in overcoming hard times, but if they don’t take necessary actions on time to get out of the situation, it’s of no use to even think about it. Taking action accordingly is the major step that could help change the present state of any person and helps them overcome any battle in life. Maintain a positive problem solving approach and take required actions at the correct time. Even taking responsibility of ones own actions helps overcome hard times to great extent.

7. Take care of self:

Take balanced, nutritious diet(thrice a day) and have a good amount of sleep (atleast 7-8hours per day). Don’t let the body and mind drain out and if it does feel that way, take appropriate rest from time to time to charge up and feel refreshing. Doing more than required leads a person to nowhere and makes them feel burnt-out and exhausted. So, instead practice self care routines and don’t be mentally exhausted.

Taking care of oneself helps develop a positive and relaxing mind that helps largely and efficiently when stuck in difficulty and chaotic situations. A calming mind thinks deeply and is effective in overcoming any kind of hardships in life with such greater ease.

8. Accept the situation, no matter how bad it seems:

Acknowledge the hard times and be ready to face it altogether. Sometimes people stay in state of denial and ignore their responsibilities towards it by averting their minds to something else in hope of getting it all turn right on it’s own. But sadly, life doesn’t work this way and one has to face it in order to overcome it courageously. The longer one ignores the situation or delay the outcomes, the longer they feel stuck in it. This leads to deterioration of ones mental health more than once expected.

In some way or another, one has to face the hard time anyway, so it’s better to get done with it as soon as possible and instead of delaying facing it, think of possible solutions and work upon it to lead a happy, content life without worrying.

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9. Learn from the tough times

Take the lessons once the tough times pass away or even while facing them. Sometimes it’s the worst situations that teaches a lot in life. Look for the opportunities to make oneself stronger and capable by taking examples from the previous hard times. Every problem teaches a valuable lesson and helps learn new things about oneself or the way of life, one just needs to uncover it the right way.

When someone is eager to learn, life provides opportunities for them to learn, sometimes in form of difficult challenges or tasks. Focus on what has been gained once the tough times pass away. While solving problem, don’t feel bad for facing or going through all the unexpected things, instead ask “what this time is trying to teach me?” to be more patient or calm? Think it this way: God usually gives tough battles to tough people.

10. Don’t ever give up, not now, not ever:

Last but not the least, don’t give up, not on oneself nor on the situation. Hard times teach a lot to a person and it can be so overwhelming at times, but one needs to have trust on themselves and their capabilities. It’s the way of perception that tells a lot about the personality of each individual personally. Tough times don’t last, but tough people do. There’s no benefit of giving up in or onto life so why not try one more time, maybe it’ll work for the better this time.

The world actually doesn’t require talented people, it just needs ‘people’, rest they can handle very well. Consistency and hard work are the key to achieve success in whatever field of work in life. By being persistent and dedicated towards the word, one could climb mountains, it’s no big deal to overcome hard times. If a person gives up initially or mid way, they’ll remain unaware of the end results whatsoever. So, better be the person who still tries to improvise the situation despite of knowing it’s adversity.