3 Tips to Look for Good in Bad Situations – I was thinking at breakfast today about how interesting it is that most of us adults – regardless of how smart we are or how many college degrees we have – haven’t learned to deal with things in life we can’t control. It’s often hard to look for good in bad situations, but today I want to share 3 tips that might help
It’s funny because when it’s a situation we can control, like creating a healthy lifestyle or preparing for a big promotion, we put a plan in place and we step up emotionally, mentally, and physically to the challenge. If it’s something we can’t control, we don’t know what to do, we panic, and we lose all sight of logic.
Truth be told, life is a fickle princess, and she throws difficult decisions and situations – controllable or not – at us every day. Most of the time, we can’t see them coming, we can’t do anything about them, and we ask what we did so wrong to deserve such punishment?
Simply put … stuff happens.
There’s a lot of helpful information online, from self-help books to inspirational quotes, blogs, articles, and fun quips like, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” All of it is meant to help find a positive perspective.
But the first step, in 3 Tips to Look for Good in Bad Situations, in my humble opinion, in learning to look for the good in bad situations is to incorporate faith.
I’m often reminded of this passage:
Looking for the Good
Gold’s plan will not lead you where God’s plan cannot keep you. Of course, life has its bumps and bruises. There are good times and difficult times and the challenge is to find your God moment in both types of experience. When do you praise and worship God? When it seems that life is going well and He is answering your prayers and you have relatively few problems? Sure, it is easy to praise then. But, when the bumps come along and you seem to be directed into u-turns, how do you adapt? When God is in control, there is no reason to expect the worst of a changing situation. In fact, you can look for the surprises of His new plan and see what He has new for you. Sort of like “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” When you find yourself in the problems of life (the mud puddle) look for the blessing He will give (fish in your pockets)! You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation: If you fall in the mud puddle, check your pockets for fish.
I talk often about faith in God, and my husband and I have made it the foundation for everything we do as a family. We have had good days, bad days and everything in-between. We have had emotional let downs, financial set backs, health scares, family crisis and marital struggles. Once you have faith, you will find it easier to deal with any difficult situation or decision – and see the blessings in them – even if you can’t completely control the outcome.
3 Tips to Look for Good in Bad Situations include:
- Take a step back – Before you jump to an irrational thought or give up on the world, take a step back, breath, and think about the bigger picture. Is this something you should be worrying about now? How big is this issue in the long run? Oftentimes, the answer presents itself naturally.
- Ask for support – If you find yourself alone in a difficult situation, ask for help. Oftentimes, someone who is not facing that decision or situation can offer a different perspective, or even tell you exactly what you need to do after having once gone through the same thing themselves.
- Reflect on what you have accomplished – Sometimes it’s easy to throw your hands up and quit. Instead, look back at all your accomplishments in life and think about how you have overcame similar struggles. What did you do then that can be incorporated now? Own the situation, regardless of the unknown of what might happen next.
The hardest one of these for me was asking for help. However, it helped the most letting the people in your life who care, help. As simple as cooking a meal for us, all the way to lending money to help pay the bills. Boy we have had a lot of hard times over the past 16 years together… the good news is, we’ve survived… and so will you!
What are some things you have done to work through this maze we call life? Share them in the comments.
Thanks for reading 3 Tips to Look for Good in Bad Situations!