It's not a sh*tshow

It’s not a sh*tshow, even if it feels that way today.

This year has been full of challenges for many of us. I’m sure you’ve seen the memes about it being a dumpster fire or people suggesting we go ahead and put Christmas trees up and fast forward through to the end of the year and get it over. But why do we want to skip three months of the year or an entire year simply because it’s a challenging year?

In life, there are seasons.

Some are easier than others. This is a hard season. Absolutely. But is it worth stopping everything and allowing the frustration, depression, anger, whatever emotion you’re feeling to overrun you and suck your happiness completely? No, it’s not. I’ve been through a lot in my life, and one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned is that our attitude about the things that are happening around us impacts our mood more than anything else.

Are you feeling stuck, frustrated, miserable, or hating life right now? I challenge you to look inward and see how you’re talking about the situation. Are you focused on how bad things are or how hard life is? Are you lamenting all of the things you can’t do anymore? If you are, you’re making it harder for yourself than it needs to be.

Cut the drama; make changes

I’ve heard that one of the best things you can do for yourself is to cut the drama in your mind. When we think in dramatic terms, we allow our brains to go nuts, but when we think in very boring, simple terms, our brains do better processing the information, and we’re able to get more done. I know it’s weird, and I’m sure I’m not explaining it 100% right, but the bottom line is to cut the drama in your thoughts, and you’ll start to feel better.

How does this relate to your business?

Are you hitting record numbers this year, or do you feel like you’ve given up on your business? Are you somewhere in the middle?

If you’re feeling frustrated by a lack of time or changing priorities, are you saying that you abandoned your business, or are you saying, I cut back on my work hours because my children need me to help them with school work? By choosing what you’re focusing on, you allow yourself to feel better about your decisions, and your brain doesn’t get set off by the dramatic – I can’t, I’m so busy, I’m so overloaded.

Stick to the facts. It helps.

I’m busy.

My kids are home with me all day.

I need to work and help the kids with school.

I want to build my business, but I’m not sure I have the time right now (it’s 100% OK to admit this if it’s your situation)

Focus on what you can control 

Find what you can control and what you can look forward to each day or each week.

Rather than fixating on what you don’t have available right now, think about what you can do. Maybe like me, you’re not comfortable going to work out in the gym, but you are comfortable taking a walk with a friend. Take that walk.

Maybe you were hoping to quit your 9 to 5 this year, but it feels too risky, and that’s OK. If your goal is to leave your 9 to 5, it doesn’t have to be right now. Focus on what you can do today to help get you one step closer to that goal.

Maybe you feel like your business took a substantial hit this year, and your goals now feel completely unobtainable, start over, create new goals for the last quarter of this year or 2021. No one knew we were going to have a global pandemic when we planned our 2020 goals. It’s OK to admit what we wanted to do this year isn’t what we’ve done.

Rather than focusing on the negative or what a mess 2020 has been, challenge yourself to look for the positive. If you’re out of routine, get back into a routine. Carve out time for yourself, your family, your job, your business, whatever is important to you, and make things happen.

Look for the good in life right now. I know there are hard days, but not every moment in every day is challenging. There’s good out there if you look. Let me know what good you have found this week. I'd love to hear.