What to do when life feels hard

Fatigue. A sense of heaviness. Restlessness.

Have you been grappling with any of these lately? Me too. It’s also a theme with many of my clients and friends.

It’s easy to dismiss inflation’s effect on us - the guilt over feeling crappy when so many are struggling to pay rent or buy food.

The reality is that you feel what you feel! When you try to fight it or engage in comparative suffering, you lose.

🍏 So what can we do when life feels so hard?

One idea is to remember to stop taking yourself so damn seriously - to seek humour around you, to find reasons to be silly and laugh. Unfortunately we tend to be unaware when we have become too serious. Prompt yourself each day to look for the humour and joy around you. For instance, I take regular cuddle breaks with my dog Jessie and giggle at her attempts to get another cookie. These moments offer lightness and a brief respite from feeling weighed down.

Another tactic is to simply stop DOING for a little bit, and just BE. Be still. Be the book devourer. Be the basement yogi. Be a napper. Be the Netflix-binger. Put a timer on for sure, but don’t NOT do it because you think you don’t have time. Find a way to get what you need. And if that means you need help or counseling, seek it out.

I know from experience that efforting through my to-do list when I’m flat-out worn-out is a recipe for more frustration. When you’re fried, you are slower and less effective. You end up needing to re-do or re-think tasks you don’t even remember plowing through.

🍏 Trust that when you feel like you’re depleted, you are. Behave accordingly so that you can bounce back when you’re good and ready.