Well, I would love to tell you that life is going to be all happiness, smiles, and laughter, we all know that would be a complete lie. The truth is that we are all going to experience times of great joy and celebration, as well as times of pain and sorrow.
We will enjoy the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It is only by experiencing both sides of the spectrum that we will truly appreciate when things are going well.
When you are working through one of those dark times, feeling worn out and broken, life can feel overwhelming. Sometimes just the act of getting through the day can be a challenge. While there is no quick fix to make this sadness go away, there are certain thoughts and concepts that you can turn to in order to keep you focused on the light at the end of the tunnel.
10 Truths to Remember Every Time You Feel Broken Inside:
#1 – Remember that your friends, family and loved ones are here to support you.
Often, we find ourselves falling into the trap of feeling embarrassed or ashamed of our struggles and vulnerability, hiding it from the people in our lives. This is completely counterproductive. Who better to trust with our vulnerable side than the very people who love and support us and would be by our side with a helping hand if they only knew what we were going through. Share your struggles with your loved ones and allow them to help you work through this.
#2 – Take a moment to see the good that exists in the world.
If you are lost in a time of darkness, crack the door open just a crack to let the light sneak in. This doesn’t even have to be something in your life directly or close to home. Pay attention to the good of the human population as a whole – read feel-good stories about overcome challenges, people helping people and celebrations from around the world. This will help you to remember that there are good times around the corner.
#3 – Life is short, don’t fall into the trap of taking it too seriously.
There are times in our lives when we actually make our pain worse simply by taking life too seriously. Think about the kid that falls down on the playground. They can scream and cry over the fact that they scraped their knee, or they could stand up, brush themselves off, laugh at the experience and continue to play. Life is far too short to focus all of our attention on these short moments of pain and struggle.
#4 – Don’t fight your feelings, allow yourself to accept them and sit with them.
While it can be difficult to experience feelings of pain, sadness or depression, burying them away isn’t going to fix the situation. In fact, ignoring your feelings and bottling them up will only set you up for an even more challenging time down the road. Instead, take the time to allow yourself to sit with these feelings and experience them, and when you are ready let them go freeing yourself from the negativity.
#5 – Remind yourself that change and struggle often give way to growth and improvement.
When you are in the middle of this struggle it may seem impossible but take a moment to look back on your life. Take note of the times before that you have faced similar times of difficulty and how you grew and evolved as a person for working through it. While it hurts to be broken, there is a light at the end of this tunnel and you will walk out a stronger, better person on the other side.
#6 – Focus your attention on your ‘why.’
Throughout our lives, each of us will find something that is important to us. This may be our family, our career success or a cause that we are particularly passionate about. Whatever it is, that ‘why’ is our purpose for pushing through day to day. If you find yourself really struggling, take a moment to focus on your why, the reason to fight through this struggle so that you can keep moving forward.
#7 – Allow yourself to unplug and reset.
We live our lives highly plugged into the world around us. From cell phones to social media, we are constantly in contact with everyone around us. While this connection can be a positive thing, there are going to be times in life that the best option is to step back and unplug for a bit so that you can recharge. Take a day and turn off your cell phone, unplug your computer and just focus on you and your life at this very moment. It can be incredibly healing.
#8 – Always remember that these are just passing feelings, and your feelings don’t define you.
When you are hitting your lowest times, it can be difficult to differentiate between what you are feeling in that moment and who you fundamentally are. You may be experiencing depression or anger, but you are not your feelings. Bad feelings will come and go, they are merely a passing moment in a much larger life.
#9 – Remind yourself that there is a life after your brokenness.
Regardless of how difficult this current challenge is, this isn’t going to mark the end of this journey we call life. You will feel pain, you will fall down, and you will struggle, but it doesn’t stop there. If you are willing to stand tall when the storm comes through, it too will pass and on the other side, as the sun peeks out from behind the clouds, it is then that you will see the rainbow.
#10 – Find things in life that make you happy, regardless of how big or small they may be.
If you take the time to look around you, will discover that there are little reasons to be happy all around us in our lives. This may be something big, such as our spouse or children, or something small like a hot cup of tea while watching the sunrise. When you are struggling with negative emotions, take note of these moments of happiness, they will remind you of how good life really is.