The Great Divide: What to Do When You Feel Like the Whole World’s Against You

 

Ever had one of those days? You know the kind I’m talking about—it starts with an issue that’s completely out of your control and spirals nonstop from there. Maybe you woke up a few minutes late or waited in an annoyingly long line at Dunkin’ Donuts only to discover they were out of your favorite coffee blend. Then, after dealing with that, maybe you got to work and dealt with a crisis situation right off the bat. And so on and so forth—you get the idea.

So what do you do when it feels like the entire world is your enemy? When crawling back into bed and hiding under the covers isn’t an option, here are a few suggestions that may slap a bandage on that raw spot in your brain.

 

Talk to a trusted friend or colleague about it.

You don’t need a psychiatrist and a leather lounge chair just to vent a few frustrations or express your feelings. Talk to someone about what’s bothering you and it’ll probably make you feel better. Sometimes it’s even helpful to make a list of your troubles or to say all of the issues aloud to yourself.

 

Blow off some steam.

We all have our own effective ways of getting the stress out; some of us exercise, some of us take deep breaths and meditate, some of us blast music and shout along with the lyrics, and some of us eat chocolate. Find whatever helps you reach that comfort zone, whether you do it on your lunch break or hold out until after work is over. Just make sure that the journey to your happy place doesn’t cause any damage to yourself or to the people (or property) in your proximity!

 

Stop thinking about the bad and focus all attention on a project instead.

Remember the expression “a watched pot never boils?” It may not be accurate when it comes to that pasta you’re cooking, but it’s definitely accurate when it comes to stress. If you spend all of your time dwelling on the crappy things that happened to you earlier, then you’ll render it impossible to move on from those crappy things. And that’s no good for anyone!

Hint: It’s possible to channel negative energy and reroute it into pure passion for your work. But first, you have to convince yourself that you’ll survive the aggravating circumstances that came your way. Try blowing off some steam to get past the initial freakout and then concentrate solely on your projects. It works!

 

Avoid overreactions at all costs.

Even if you feel like every cell is pulsing with bad luck and there’s no possible way you can break the curse, that’s no reason to take it out on the people around you. We’ve all read the horror stories; some people overreact to stressors and end up saying things they don’t mean (or, even worse, they say things that make them lose their jobs). Don’t lash out at others because you’re feeling down in the dumps. Chances are good that you’ll only amplify your problems if you let them build too much!

 

The bottom line? The whole world isn’t out to get you, no matter how strongly you may feel that it is. You are the only one who can dictate how you feel and how you handle yourself on a daily basis, and you should never allow uncontrollable circumstances to ruin your day.

 

You make your own luck

 

I know, you’ve more than likely heard that before…but it’s true. Think about it.

 

Dwelling on past misfortunes won’t do anything except put a wedge under the door to invite more misfortunes into your life. You’ll gracefully overcome those feelings of dread, one by one, once you stop seeing everything as a personal attack. Only YOU can motivate yourself to that point!

 

Good luck!

 

Tagged as: Discouragement, stress, tips

Trackback URL for this post: http://www.bizchickblogs.com/2011/09/the-great-divide-what-to-do-when-you-feel-like-the-whole-world%e2%80%99s-against-you.html/trackback/