As we all know, no matter what we do, there are times when things don’t go the way we want. Obviously, there’s a lot we can do to prevent bad stuff from happening. Planning, proactivity, and responsibility go a long way to paving the road to success & happiness. But despite our best efforts, there are tons of factors we can’t control. It’s important to know what to do when life sucks.

When you get to that point where things seem to be frustrating, depressing, or whatever, the next steps are vital to how your next chapter will come out.

We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations. ~Charles Swindoll

Avoid Self-Destructive Action

First of all, it’s under times of stress that we tend to make our most poor decisions.

Step Back, Get Perspective

Breath. It’s time to get objective about what’s going on and lose any “filters” you might have. Press your internal pause button on trying to label, blame or excuse anyone.

Getting objective doesn’t mean you should get hung up on analyzing things, just to gain a clear perception of what brought you to this point. There is no time frame for this part, but you don’t want it to keep you from the next steps.

Assess Your Mindset

Now that you’ve cleaned the lenses you use to see the current situation, is there a different way you can think about it?

The way you perceive and react to the world is a choice. ~David Foster Wallace

Talk with Friends & Family

Try Something New

Renew Your Faith

Be Creative

Plan, Renew, Rebuild

We can choose to throw stones, to stumble on them, to climb over them, or to build with them. ~William Arthur Ward