Yesterday I had a down day. I don't have them very often so when they arrive, it has a profound effect on me. I felt fear, doubt, and worry yesterday and while I knew that it wasn't based on anything tangible, I couldn't shake a sense of feeling like I wasn't as far along as I wanted to be. Well, yesterday's gone and today is here and I went to bed extra early (I'd only gotten 4 hours of sleep the night before) and, at 5:47 am, I feel absolutely refreshed, in passion, and on purpose.
What's the point?
There are going to be discouraging days. There are going to be days where you feel like you're not as far along as you'd like to be, where you look at your results and you look at your efforts and you wonder "Is this worth it?"
Understand what those days come to teach you:
1) Surrender
Sometimes we hold on to things so tightly that we're not able to let go and trust that everything works out in divine timing; it does. Yesterday, I wanted to write a facebook note and was upset with myself most of the morning that I didn't feel like writing it. Guess what happened? I meditated mid-afternoon and got up and wrote a fabulous note in under 15 minutes. Had I trusted that the words would come, I would've saved myself a great deal of frustration.
2) Self Care
Sleep IS vital. Let me say that again (because I'm talking to myself too here): SLEEP IS VITAL. If you aren't getting AT LEAST 5 hours of sleep a night (Dr. Oz says 7-8), you are not at your best and when you're not at your best, little things start to look like big things and opportunities begin to look like obstacles and, before you know it, you start to miss important experiences. Get sleep. If you can't get it at night, take naps during the day. Meditate. Quiet your mind. All of these are key. Eat well. Eat healthy. Drink plenty of water. As Norman Vincent Peale has said, "A clean mind always delivers power."
3) Faith
I can't speak on faith enough. If I could spend everyday talking about one thing, it's faith. What you believe in (what you truly, deep down believe in) becomes true for you. When you're tired and frustrated, sleep deprived and having a discouraging day, really pay attention to your thoughts because they're pointing out to you what you truly, in your subconscious, believe. This is a wonderful opportunity because when it comes to the surface (and it always does on a discouraging day), you have the opportunity to go, "Hmmm, so that's what's hiding in my subconscious. Ok. What results has that kind of thinking been getting me? Hmmm, ok, so not what I want. Well, let me now choose differently." And then you're free to choose new thoughts that take you from success to success.
4) Every experience is a success
Here's the thing about discouraging days: they pass. Don't get caught up in one discouraging day. It has its purpose in your life. Maybe you're not supposed to work so much on that day. Maybe you're supposed to get wind of the limiting beliefs that are holding you back. Maybe you're supposed to learn how to trust and let go. Maybe you just need to go out and have some fun for once. Who knows? But the truth is this: every experience is a success and everything happens for a reason. When you begin to look at life this way, even the discouraging days encourage.
