Some days you are on cloud nine. Plans are running smoothly, life seems effortless and your contributions to those around you are meaningful and well-received.

Other days, it feels as if your best just simply isn’t enough.

You doubt yourself.

You question your decisions.

You wonder if you’re cut out for the task at hand.

Perhaps these thoughts are fleeting. Other times, they may last for a period of hours or even days. Sometimes it feels like the whole world is against you and all you want to do is hide.

I personally have been there many a time. Have you? I fathom that at some point we have all found ourselves victims of our own self-imposed fears and doubts; struggling to encourage ourselves through a difficult task or moment in time. It’s painful, it’s arduous, but it is possible.

It’s essential.

I frequently find myself working hard to inspire and support others. Whether it be in relation to my three children and spouse, or my health and fitness clients, be it in my church ministry groups or simply in my relationships with others. But what happens when I find I need some encouragement myself? How do I dig myself out of the rabbit hole I occasionally find myself in?

1. I focus on the NOW. If anxiety is living in the future (worrying about the ‘what if’s’ of life) and depression is living in the past (fretting over a past mistake or missed opportunity perhaps), I know that the only way I can stay grounded is by living in the now. The now is the one time that I can actually have a hand in constructing. What am I doing or, what can I do right now to change my circumstances?

2. I grab hold of the GOOD. There is always a silver lining, even when the skies are dark and cloudy. I woke up today. I am breathing today. I am thinking, moving, talking, seeing, hearing and feeling today. I keep my eyes on the good as much as I can, despite the bad that seems to threaten my sanity. What good has come today, perhaps, right now that I can redirect my energy towards?

3. I take a time OUT. Sometimes, I simply have to put my own self on a time out. Just like my kiddos when they become irrational or out of control, when I feel myself getting in my own way or being my own worst enemy, I make myself take a grownup time-out to regroup. I find a quiet space and spend a few moments focusing on my breathing, stilling my body and silencing my mind.

4. I let the truth be TOLD. Repressing feelings, frustration or anger, only manifests more of the same and may even, in time, cause illness. Before I’ve reached my breaking point, I reach out to a trusted confidante (or even a journal) to give a voice to my emotions before they take hold and grow roots. What am I holding onto right now that is putting fear and pain in my heart that I need to release so that I may move on into my purpose?

5. I entrust my problems to GOD. My faith sustains me and my God reminds me that there is nothing in my path that I cannot endure with Him at my side. I keep Psalm 91 at my left hand (literally and figuratively) as a reminder that the precious feathers of God’s unchanging hand are protecting me through my storm. What words, phrases or imagery can I take to heart that will remind me that my Creator is with me and for me at all times?

These tools have helped me weather many a storm and allow me to care for myself when I am in need of support. Life is a precious, ever-changing gift and along with a life well lived, come many opportunities for change, growth and development. We may question ourselves, we may think ourselves to be inadequate or ill-prepared. We may have moments of extreme self-doubt.

But we get to persevere.

We get to show up for ourselves and for those whom we love.

We get to repair ourselves through deliberate self-care.

We get to know that we, that you, are more than enough.

 

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