Last month proved to be quite a challenging one and I was faced with making some difficult decisions, as we all are from time to time. However it is important during such difficult times to grasp the reality of the situation and consider how it stands in the grand design of things.
Recently, whilst wandering around my local store in a somewhat self-absorbed way, I noticed a middle-aged lady staring at the top shelf. Nothing too remarkable with that, I hear you say, except that the lady in question could not have been more than three and a half foot high and was obviously wondering how to get something off the top shelf. It occurred to me how many challenges she must be faced with every day; things the rest of us take for granted and yet must seem like huge challenges to her.
This months’ newsletter examines how we cope when something goes wrong; or more than one thing, as is often the case! It seems ironic that whenever some disaster befalls us—the dishwasher dies a sudden death, we have a huge falling out with a loved one or a difficult colleague at work makes life unbearable— suddenly other ‘disasters’ seem to come our way in quick succession!
Or do they? Are we simply more prone to viewing things in a more negative light? We all know the saying about the glass being half-full or half-empty but it is how we apply ourselves during difficult times. Trying to adopt more realistic coping mechanisms can move us away from feeling out of control and lets us adopt a more positive and powerful state of mentality, allowing us to ‘act upon adversity’ and to not give up.
Here are some coping strategies for when it all seems to be too much. And remember:- ‘when times get tough, the tough get going!’
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Thoughts for the month:
We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations
Author Unknown
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts
Winston Churchill
Running from your problems only increases the distance to the solution
Author Unknown
Like to contribute ...?
I am interested in all feedback and comments to this newsletter.
I also welcome any offers of collaboration or inclusion of promotional articles.
To discuss any contribution please contact me through the channels below.
My contact details
Pavlenka Small
Small Steps to Success
Tel : 01206 299073
pav@smallsteps2success.co.uk
 Email contact form here
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Six small steps 2
coping when times are tough......
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1. Don’t bury your head in the sand !
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Face the problem, devise a plan of action and put all your energy into doing something about the situation rather than mulling it over and worrying about it.
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2. Look at the situation from another’s perspective
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Try to look at things objectively and consider how an outsider- someone who knows you well and who you can trust- would deal with the situation. Can you put yourself in their shoes and see it from their perspective?
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3. Use your contacts to help and support you
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Who do you know that you can confide in and who might have experienced what you are going through? They may well shed a different light on the situation and it is often a relief to talk things through with someone else outside your immediate family and friends.
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4. Don’t blame yourself or others
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Apportioning blame in any given situation is unproductive and unhealthy. It may be that a mistake has been made by someone (and that might be you?!) and you are now experiencing the results of that mistake. Accept that mistakes happen and it just shows that you, or a third party, are human!
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5. Believe you can turn things around
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Anthony Robbins, entrepreneur and self-help guru, states that we all have problems, disappointments and frustrations but he says it is how we deal with our setbacks that will: ’shape our lives more than anything else we do.’
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6. Difficult situations allow us to discover inner strengths
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It is a fact of life that unless we are very lucky, most of us experience difficult times whether they be minor situations or life-changing experiences. How often do you look back and think; ’that was the worst time ever, I don’t know how I got through that’. The fact is you DID survive and probably found inner strengths that you did not know you possessed.
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If you can identify with any of the above ...
Why not invest the cost of a phone call so you can discover more during a complimentary coaching session.
STOP PRESS EVENT!!!
How to confidently be your own boss
Tuesday 18th May - 9:30 am- 12:30 pm
Basepoint Business Centre
Ransomes Europark, Ipswich
[Map & directions here]
£47 per person - bring a friend along for just £27
For more details contact Pavlenka on 01206 299073
or email pav@smallsteps2success.co.uk
Finally here’s a favourite inspirational poem I’d like to share:
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but have to sigh;
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The sliver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you can never tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things go wrong that you must not quit
(Unknown)
Have a great month ...
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Small Steps 2 Success May 2010 Newsletter.
Pavlenka Small. Steps to Success. 2 Elm Cottages. Mission Lane. East Bergholt. Colchester. Essex. CO7 6XH.
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