Ever gotten a news so bad it drains you of every ounce of motivation you have left for life?
I’ll tell you an open secret today: It’s okay to not feel pumped all the time. It’s okay to feel bad about a current situation. It’s okay to be nervous. It’s okay to acknowledge that you’re feeling a negative emotion.
Sometimes when a really bad thing happens we put so much pressure on ourselves to keep a game face on. And I understand that because sometimes we just have to seem strong even when we’re not. For the last two weeks, the whole pandemic got to me so bad and was messing with my head, but I couldn’t let it show because if I’m scared then my younger brothers will get scared too. So I get it. I get that sometimes it’s complicated.
You put on those bad-boy shades if you need to. Smile and go on. Whatever it takes, the world just can’t know how much it’s hurting. I understand. But really, what do you do to actually get better? Not for anyone else, but for yourself. Because it’s one thing to be in motion and it’s another to actually be moving.
I remember the first time I ever failed a course at university. I just went from being a straight-A student to having a carryover. I was distraught, torn apart. First came the denial — maybe it’s the lecturer that’s wrong. Then the self-judgment. I hated and cursed myself for it for a long time. So much so that I missed the carryover classes, every CA, and assignment the following year, leaving me with just 70 marks in exams to fight for. It took me a while to finally get to the part of not only accepting what had happened but also doing something to make it right.
I know it’s easier said than done but in my experience, the first step to getting to a better place is realizing that the event is the problem, not you. I know you might have played a role in creating it but for every moment you spend wallowing in self-pity you are loosing precious time you would have spent on creating a solution, on moving forward, on healing. And the feelings you get because of the problem? It’s only normal, but don’t let it define you.
You are angry, you’re not an angry person.
You are sad, you’re not a sad person.
You are currently nervous, you’re not a nervous person.
It’s okay to FEEL that, but remember you are not that.
Please don’t judge yourself for feeling, you’re only human.
Acknowledge what has happened, but separate yourself from the event. That way you can move on faster.
Today might be a bad day but there will definitely be more days. It might be a bad week but there will be more weeks.
It’s not full time until the final whistle.
The key to getting through tough situations is reminding yourself that life is a marathon not a sprint.
Like I said, I know it’s easier said than done. You might never be able to get over the effect of that bad situation or to make the experience go away. And I know it might not seem like it right now, but you will have better days…It’s not over.
About the author:
Greg Uzo is on a lifelong journey to inspire 1 billion people to positively impact the life of 1 person they know; and this is one of his mediums of documenting his progress.
PS. I’ll be honored to have you join me on this daring yet exciting journey by following me on Twitter.
