We all have all been in situations where things aren’t going your way.  This could simply be a single thing that sets you off, but more often one becomes two becomes three.  When this occurs it’s very hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Everything is shrouded in a veil of negativity with no end in sight.

During these times, it is important to find one grain of positivity.  It could be as simple as acknowledging the beautiful day outside, or buying yourself a bouquet of flowers, or snuggling in the corner with a hot cup of tea and a good book.  These grains of light produce the energy for the next one.

I had this epiphany the other day while I was on my run.  I’m not a runner, but sometimes when it’s been a tough week and I feel I need to push myself and get some exercise, I will run.  I don’t run races and generally prefer to run alone.  I can comfortably run between 2 and 5 miles, and at the end of the day, I know I can walk myself home.  My coping mechanism for making it through my runs involves looking for the next immediate milestone.  This is usually a tree, street sign, fence post, etc.  I always have enough energy to make it to that next marker and once you string lots of markers together, you make it home.

I’m convinced that I can apply this to those situations where I sense myself getting frustrated after multiple frustrating things have piled up.  I just need to find that one moment of sanity and comfort and convince myself that I can make it to the next one.  This challenge is short lived  and can be overcome, just as the next one can and the next one. Before I know it, I’ve pushed through to a better, stronger place.