Three little tricks to make it thru those terrible days
Let me begin with a story that some of you can relate to, I am sure.
It starts out like any other day, with the hurriedness and the I’m late-ness and just one more cup of coffee-ness. You have the best intentions of putting your best foot forward.
And, all of a sudden, things go pear shaped.
Maybe you had words with your husband. Perhaps one of your children set you off. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is that it sent you spiralling down, towards the drains of despair.
That’s exactly what happened to me last week. I had one of these very bad kinds of days.
I knew that I was committed. To my recovery. To me family. To you, my readers. But, my emotions wouldn't let me thru. Everything got tangled up in a nasty web of misery.
So I did the only thing that I felt capable of doing. I snuggled deep inside my duvet and let my emotions win. It just wasn't possible for me to do more.
If I can give just a little advice for days when the world seems like your number one enemy, it’s this.
Go back to bed! But not before you have read this.
Your resilience, your stick-to-it-ness and your willingness all play a monumental part in your recovery!
Here are my three tips for you to survive a no good, rotten sort-of-a-day!
Have Confidence in Yourself and Your Path
You are worthy. Though you may not feel it at this precise moment, remember everything that you’ve been thru. You are a survivor. You are strong.
It is simply transforming when I can let go of that needling voice inside of my head that tells me, “Just give up, Stacie. Who do you think you are?”
I reel it back in, all of the insecurities, the put-downs and lies that I conjure up in my moment of weakness. I speak softly to myself, erasing those cruelties with words of encouragement…
…allowing myself to feel the pain but not get lost in it.
You owe yourself to be the best you you can be. No one else can do it for you.
I challenge you to think of one special quality that you and only you possess. Is it your secret Bolognese sauce recipe? Or perhaps the way that you bring a smile to your family’s faces?
Hold on to this.
It’s a long haul, this road to recovery. Your family, friends, your own self needs you.
You’ve got this.
Show Up!
Put one foot in front of the other. It’s amazing how cathartic it can be to move forward.
Sometimes all we can do is fake it until we make it!
Before going back to bed on this particular (no good, horrible) day, I did one thing that proved to myself that I was worthy. I filmed a video for you.
You see, the world needs you and all that you have to say. There isn’t another you, doing you-stuff.
What about your secret Bolognese sauce? Who can make it just that way? No one!
What I have to keep reminding myself is that done is better than perfect.
Is my video perfect? Not in the least!!
Could I have spent the time to make it perfect, practicing my words over and over another million times or delving in to find the audio controls of the software?
Of course I could have!
I wasn’t prepared to let anything stop me from making that day LESS about the awfulness and MORE about me making my first ever video. (Not even the fact that I came straight from the gym, hadn't showered and threw a sweater on top of my work out kit!)
On bad days, what matters the most, is that you prove to yourself your commitment to the journey.
Some days it’s all we can do to show up, put your (fake?) smile on and go thru the motions.
These days, you’re not letting your life beat you, although you are, for sure, taking a few punches on the chin.
Congratulate Yourself!
You did it! Whoo Hoo!!
Maybe it’s not perfect. We’re not perfect. The fact is that you made a first step, or second step or the same step that you’ve been working on for ages!
Now, go back to step one. And do it all again.
Because, our recovery is not a sprint. We’re in it for the long haul.
The more you praise yourself, the faster and the more effective the knock on affect of climbing up out of the spiral will be. You see, sometimes we just have to brainwash ourselves!
Am I a master at these three tips? A resounding NO!
I have a survivor mentality. I’m not going to lose.
What this means is that for each day I spend hiding under my duvet, I spend two days, putting my nose down and doing the work.
And just to prove it to you, here’s the video that I recorded last week. (But if you like it, give me a thumbs up👍🏼!)
It’s far from perfect.