Welcome to Strugglesville: Population 1 (and that “1” is you!)

Have you been struggling lately?

It seems like I go through bits of struggle here and there. The day starts off awesome, I’m getting stuff done, and then life happens and the struggle begins. Could be the boss gave some super-critical feedback on something you poured your soul into. Might be something outside of work (might? okay, probably something outside of work!). Maybe today just isn’t your day.

I know I’ve got a choice. Do I continue the struggle and take it home or pull others into my struggle, or do I pull myself out of the struggle and get back on track. I. Know. That. Is. A. Choice. And still, I struggle with that choice! Do you feel me?

The struggle is real, for all of us. Sure someone else probably has more of a struggle than you, but when you’re in full struggle mode you don’t want to hear that shit. Your struggle at that moment is for real, real!

So, how do I pull myself out of the struggle?

I’ve got a number of tactics I use to pull myself out of the struggle may be one of these will help you in your struggle:

Find a small win! I’m not looking to save the world, I just need to get one small win under my belt! Maybe that’s not eating Taco Bell for lunch and having a salad (small win for me, yay!). Maybe it’s clearing my inbox (a little bigger win!). Maybe it’s finally having that one difficult conversation I’ve been putting off (small win with a big stress relief). It all starts with one small win, then find another, and build on those.

Conversation with a positive ear! I’ve got some friends, peers, co-workers that I know are almost always really positive. I make that conversation happen, and the topic is not about my struggle, the topic is about something that needs to get done, or I need to make better, etc. After those conversations, I feel uplifted and energized to do something, and walk away from the struggles.

Do something I’m good at or enjoy, that isn’t destructive. Okay, I might be a genius at ordering the perfect Taco Bell meal, but that’s not the good I’m talking about! I’m good at writing. It relaxes me. If I’m in full struggle mode, I start writing. I enjoy listening to music. It helps turn my mood around given the right playlist.

Helping someone else. Nothing pulls me out of a struggle like being helpful to someone else. I get a positive boost. They get some help. I can return to my previously scheduled programming without the struggles!

I’ll pull myself into one of these three things mid-day if needed, because me working while struggling doesn’t help anyone, including myself.

I would love to hear how you pull yourself out of your struggle. We all visit Strugglesville, how we get home is pretty unique for each of us!

4 thoughts on “Welcome to Strugglesville: Population 1 (and that “1” is you!)

  1. Pingback: Revisiting Strugglesville | The Tim Sackett Project

  2. Whenever I find myself slipping into the struggle Abyss I take a step back and ask myself if I’m doing too much. I know that I can overthink and overachieve and not have enough time to do all that I want. But I try to remind myself that it’s okay if I don’t get everything I want done as long as I do what has been expressly asked of me. And lately I have been into ASMR videos on YouTube to help me relax & reset my anxious thoughts.

  3. Raises hand. Right now my struggle is not working in TA/HR. I feel like an outsider looking in and it brings me down. The fourth bullet in your list is how I’ve been getting past it.

  4. Working from home is great but there are days I don’t leave my home office for 8-9 hours straight (and yes, the dreaded lunch at my desk!). When I’m struggling, I find a 30 minute break on the couch with a book and my puppy can do wonders for the rest of my afternoon. 🙂

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