Do you struggle when things go south?
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As much as we strive to do our best and steer our lives with intention, it’s inevitable that we experience setbacks, disappointments, and failures.
The feelings we experience in those situations can range from annoyed to frustrated to crushed.
And it’s in those moments that fear and doubt can take over.
So, how can you respond instead?
Ask yourself this question:
“Where are the gifts?”
Even the most challenging situations can offer us gifts.
The pandemic we have lived through comes immediately to mind, but life is frequently messy. We lose people we love. We get fired from a job or lose a major client. Relationships fall apart. Project outcomes fall short.
When there are big hits, or small events that don’t go well, we have the opportunity to choose the lens through which to look.
When we look for them, we can find gifts, both small ones, and often bigger gifts.
Here are some gifts to look for
When you look for the gifts in any situation, you are oriented to the positive, and that helps you feel better in the moment. You can see opportunities and possibilities. Your energy shifts in ways that turn any situation around faster.
The gifts can be small and subtle — and those are terrific.
You might consider posing questions like these:
What lessons can I take away from this disappointment or failure?
What opportunities might be opening up, that I can see now?
How can I appreciate kindness that was offered to me?
How can I appreciate and celebrate the ways I took a risk, or spoke up, or created something in a new way, or helped in a situation?
What new ways to work, or connect, or create, or think are possible now?
Where has space opened up for things I like or want to do, such as cooking, getting outdoors, playing an instrument, learning something I’ve been curious about?
What if it’s possible that new and better things will soon be coming, that I cannot even see right now?
Can you envision how referring to this list of questions could help you steer clear of an emotional nose-dive?
Any of them can help you shift your perspective, support you emotionally, and help you move forward in a more positive way.
Consider how you can use these ideas each day
We always have the opportunity to view our circumstances with fresh eyes and choose the way to move forward.
Even in small moments when you find yourself feeling let down or disappointed, think positively and consider that good can lie ahead.
And think creatively. Because we can create all the time.
Consider that in every moment, and with every choice we make for what to say or do next, we have a creative opportunity.
Leave a comment to share the ways you have chosen a positive frame of mind, and created your way forward when challenges have shown up in your life.
And if you want to talk about how to bring more creative activation into your life, to move beyond what limits you, let’s talk. I’d be glad to help you gain new insights and perspectives on what’s in the way, as well as what’s possible for you. Click here to find a spot on my calendar.
Stay safe and well, and keep creating.
