Dealing with Adversity

How do you deal with adversity?  When you find yourself in a situation you aren't happy with, what is your reaction?  I know what I would like to do when bad things happen...depending on the severity it's either pretend that it never happened and keep moving on, curl up in a ball and hide under the blankets where no one can find me, or kiss my former life goodbye, pack everything up and move to some other location in the country.  But that's not really possible or practical, is it?

Now, there are some things that happen that are crappy that you really can just be like "ok...we're going to forget that happened", but not everything is like that unfortunately.  Sometimes it's better to just suck it up and deal with the problem head on, suffer the consequences, and move on from there.  It's about making the best of the situation, no matter how crappy it is.  Some pretty horrible things happen sometimes that have a huge impact on other things in your life besides just you.  Those are the most difficult to deal with.

The best you can do is try your hardest not to avoid whatever unpleasant situation you find yourself in.  Often times, the longer you avoid it, the worse the results can be.  Just rip it off like a Band Aid.  Figure out the consequences. Then figure out what healthy things you can do for yourself that will help you cope with the consequences...get together with friends, go for a hike, cry, go for a jog, do some therapeutic cleaning, watch your favorite movie, read a book...anything that will help you get your mind off of it. I do not recommend turning to things like alcohol.  All that does is make you temporarily forget and then probably make you feel worse afterward...especially if that is what you turn to every single time you have that something you don't want to deal with. 

Life is never perfect all the time.  We work our hardest to make sure it is as close as it can be, but we must always figure out how to deal with it when it is not perfect.

Thank you to my mom for sharing the quote seen above!  It's perfect for this entry (and the current weather!)