9 Ways To Stay Positive During Difficult Times

If you’re currently going through a difficult time, positive thinking may seem like a huge hurdle. So, how exactly do you stay positive when everything seems like it’s falling apart?

We’ve all had our fair share of hard times which can be immensely challenging, so having a positive outlook can seem impossible. 

However, learning how to stay positive (even just a little bit), can help you get through this tough situation and make it easier to open yourself up to good things – I promise.

Why is it important to stay positive during difficult times?

Staying positive in tough situations has its benefits – mainly focusing on the good in your life can create simple joy and pleasure, even when you’re struggling.

As a result, the field shifted to concentrate on cultivating satisfaction and well-being but staying open to the full range of emotional experiences, both good and bad. 

The Harvard Health article explains that avoiding emotions actually increases suffering –  which brings us to our first point below… acknowledge what you’re going through.

9 Ways To Stay Positive During Difficult Times

1. First, Acknowledge What You’re Going Through

The most important first step to take is to acknowledge your feelings and what you are going through.

When we’re going through tough times, we can be way too hard on ourselves, thinking we shouldn’t be feeling this way.

I’ve personally thought to myself on many occasions…

• Why are you being so sensitive?
• Why are you still upset about this – it’s been so long.
• Surely you can get over this?

When we get bad news, go through a traumatic event and are experiencing complicated feelings, we need to remind ourselves that it’s OKAY to feel the way we feel.

When we feel, we are being our genuine selves and we don’t need to add guilt on top of our worries.

Embrace and acknowledge your feelings as they are.

2. Be Mindful of Negative Thoughts

When you’re going through a difficult time it can be easy to let negative thinking take over. Let’s face it – you’re most likely thinking…

• This isn’t fair
• Why do these things always happen to me
• I’m sick of trying so hard

These negative thoughts turn into negative feelings which lead us down the worst-case scenario path.

So, my biggest tip is to take notice. As soon as you notice negative thinking taking over, be aware that this is happening.

Then once you have awareness of your negative thinking you can try some tips to stop your rumination in its tracks.

One of the things you can start doing today is tracking your mood. By tracking your mood on a daily basis you’ll be able to start identifying triggers that are igniting your negative thoughts.

Then you can begin to deal with those triggers in a healthy way – allowing you to decrease these bad thoughts and feelings.

Try these free mood tracking printables or check out my ‘Today I Choose Joy’ mood tracking journal available on Amazon to get started.

3. Create a Support System

Start by writing down people you can turn to, who are good at supporting you. You know those caring, positive people I’m talking about – the genuine people out there who love you for you – your true friends and family. 

Keep this list of people in plain view (on your fridge, in the front of your journal, by your desk), so you can be reminded that you have people who care for you.

To create a support system you can include:

• Family members who have that special knack for making you laugh
• Friends who always seem to know what to say
• Your mom who’s a great listener
• Your neighbour who makes you smile

You can also contact a select few people and let them know you really need support right now – even share this post on encouraging words for a friend going through a tough time. 

Think about asking them to check in on you a couple of times a week. This might seem hard, but sometimes the best thing is to just tell people what you need. You will benefit and they will find it much easier to support you.

4. Get Help To Support Your Mental Health

Find some professional support to help you get through this tough time. If you haven’t tried therapy before, you may feel super nervous or question whether therapy even works. I do however encourage you to give it a try.

Know that there are different types of therapy out there and some may be more beneficial for you than others, so talk to your healthcare practitioner to find the right resources to get you set up. 

Knowing you have someone to talk to, who is trained to help people get through dark times can be a massive support.

5. Practice Daily Self Care

When you’re going through hard times, there’s a good chance that you are not looking after yourself properly and this is where practicing self-care comes in.

Self-care practices that are best during this time are about looking after the basics…

• Get enough sleep
• Eat well
• Connect with loved ones
• Take time out for simple pleasures
• Get outside for some fresh air
• Create time for light exercise

Now is also a great time to focus on emotional self-care, which helps you reduce your stress levels, look after your feelings and do things that make you feel good emotionally.

6. Find ways to be grateful

Starting a gratitude practice during a tough time can seem really difficult, so my top tip is to think of the everyday small things you might take for granted in your day…

• Your child’s laugh
• A phone call from your bestie
• A blue sky
• Birds chirping
• Chatting with neighbours
• Eating healthy food

Whatever little things you can focus on and be grateful for won’t take you out of a hard time, but it will lighten the load of what you’re carrying a little more.

If you have a tough time thinking about little things to be grateful for, check out my 52 Week Gratitude Journal which includes journal prompts to help with self-reflection.

7. Avoid Stressful Situations

When at all possible try to avoid stressful situations. You are already struggling, so doing something you know will be hard for you is not recommended.

Some examples of stressful situations to avoid:

• Not talking to your critical sibling
• Avoiding toxic people who drain your energy
• Set boundaries to avoid being taken advantage of – this includes your work, personal relationships, and family

Instead, focus on the strong relationships you have and embrace those for support.

8. Think Of Positive Changes You Can Make

Regardless of the difficult situation you’re personally experiencing you can choose to make some positive changes to help you get through this tough time.

• If you have a hard time letting go of the past, it could be a great time to focus on the present moment whenever possible.
• If you’re feeling particularly low, read these quotes to give you strength. 
• Wish you could clear your mind of intrusive thoughts? Try these tips on decluttering your mind – perfect to reduce overwhelm.

By doing the hard work you’ll be able to put a positive spin on things more naturally.

9. Remind yourself that this too shall pass

Never forget that what you’re going through today, will not necessarily be your tomorrow. 

Good times will come and if you do your best to focus on having a positive mindset you’ll begin to see more of the good stuff coming into your life every day. You just have to take notice of it.

This experience, tough situation, or difficult event is here now, but take comfort in knowing that things will change.

Even if things don’t go the way you’d like and your path rears in a completely difficult direction, time still heals – and even though I think the saying is a little cliché, fully trust and believe it.

Final Thoughts

Let’s face it – life can be a roller coaster.

We have ups that bring us true happiness and downs that seem to take over our lives. This is the human experience.

If every single day was all sunshine and rainbows you wouldn’t have the opportunity to grow, learn and most importantly appreciate what you have in life.

The key here is to not allow difficult times to completely take over your life. I’ve been there and it’s completely exhausting and a very sad, dark place to be. 

If you work hard to have a positive attitude and build your inner strength, even when times are truly challenging you’ll be able to get through it that little bit easier if you have an action plan you can rely on.

I hope you found this helpful.

Here’s to looking towards the light even on the darkest days.

Resources To Stay Positive During Difficult Times:

• We Become What We Think About + 3 Positive Thinking Techniques
• 50 Mental Health Affirmations for Depression and Anxiety
• 10 Powerful Reasons Life is Beautiful