Okay, well life doesn’t always suck. Heck, there are some pretty great days, but there are also some really lousy ones. Life is composed of hills and valleys. It’s a cliché, I know, but bare with me. Picture a landscape of two hills and a valley in between. To get to the top of the hill you first have to start at the bottom of a valley. To get to the next hill you have to venture down the first hill, through a valley, and then up the second hill. Makes sense, right?
Now I’m sure you already have started to do this, but apply this metaphor to your life for a moment. The top of a hill is a high moment in your life, an ultimate good day. The bottom of the valley is a low moment, the ultimate worst day. For every high moment in life there is a low moment, so why do we get stuck in these ruts where all we can see are all the things wrong in our lives and in our world?
I don’t have a cookie-cutter answer for you. Life just sucks sometimes, and sometimes it doesn’t. I can’t tell you why you are in a rut right now but I can tell you how you can start to get out of it. Instead of dwelling on all that is wrong with your life, change your perspective.
Changing your perspective is no easy task. It requires consistency and perseverance. In those weak moments when you’re tired, overwhelmed, or hangry, you have to think in the positive. For example, instead of thinking “I can’t do that because I’m not good at it,” change the tone of your thought and tell yourself “I will try my best to do that and succeed at learning a new skill.”
You see our frame of mind is so very important. It shapes how we view ourselves and how we view others. Imagine that everyone is like a car and has different gears. Our two primary gears as people are positive and negative.
When we are trying to function in our negative gear we can only get so far in life; the negative gear doesn’t let us get up the hill so we are stuck in our valley, trying (and failing) to get to higher ground. When we change to our positive gear we still have to work, but we are strong enough to pull ourselves out of the valley and up to the hill.
Put simply: Life sucks sometimes, but when it does, we have to tell ourselves that life gets better.
Changing perspective is key in getting out of the valleys in our lives, but most of the time we can’t just flick a switch and be positive. It takes times, hard work, and constant reminders. I’ve found that what works best for me is encouraging music. But for some people, books, movies, tv shows, or YouTube videos work. Here are a couple great places to look for encouragement and positivity.
1. KLove & Air1
KLove and Air1 are sister Christian radio stations. Both stations play encouraging music 24/7 and even air encouraging bits of sermons, not to mention their joyous and lively DJs.
I have Air1 or KLove on in my car all the time, but especially when I’m driving to work. The music they play brightens my mood and the lyrics within each song encourage me to press on with my day. 10/10 would recommend!
2. Broadway Musicals
This past year or so I have discovered how truly amazing show tunes can be! I mean, if you just think about it for a moment, it makes sense. Most of the time musicals are about someone who is struggling with some obstacle or challenge in their life and to have a good storyline that conflict has to resolve somehow, so there tends to be some sort of “happy ending” for the lead. (Hint- the lead in your life is you.)
I would recommend you check out “Dear Evan Hansen,” if you are looking for encouragement. Look up the show first so you get a feel for the storyline, but then dive right into Evan’s word. Take in all the little bits of advice and encouragement in songs like “Waving Through A Window,” “You Will Be Found,” “To Break In A Glove,” “Words Fail,” and so much more. The music is absolutely beautiful, which may be part of the reason the show won the Tony for best musical this year.
3. TED Talks
When I feel like life just sucks and that I’m stalling while going uphill, then I try to do something that makes me feel a little more productive, like watch TED talks. One of my all time favorites is “Your body language may shape who you are” by Amy Cuddy. I watched and re-watched this one more than I would like to admit, but I have also applied it to my life more than any of the other TED talks I happen upon. So applicable and helpful in any and all situations!
