| Have you ever been discouraged? Ever been at the | | | | ideas to consider. |
| bottom of the emotional barrel? Ever felt like no matter | | | | 1.Spend one hour creating a list of everything you are |
| which way you turned or whatever you did it didn't | | | | thankful for. You could always start with: food to eat, |
| matter? Well, I have on a number of occasions during | | | | air to breathe and water to drink. See if you can get to |
| the past 45 years and I can tell you, but those of you | | | | 100. |
| who have experienced this already know, that the | | | | 2.Start a good stuff jar. Anything that makes to feel |
| world seems to be crashing in around you and there | | | | good, successful, worthwhile or appreciated goes in it. |
| doesn't seem to be anything you can do to change | | | | Things like notes from friends, special pictures. I put |
| your circumstances. | | | | copies of checks from clients in mine. |
| Well there is if you are willing to look, look deep, look | | | | 3.Start a journal if you haven't yet. Write in it every |
| hard and keep on looking until some answers finally | | | | day. Anything you want - it's your journal and you don't |
| come. | | | | have to show it to anyone. |
| I believe discouragement is one of the most debilitating | | | | 4.Read a passage in a self-help book every day. |
| feelings or emotions that one can experience in life. | | | | 5.Talk with friends who love and support you no |
| The only on that comes close is fear. If you have | | | | matter what. |
| never been discouraged bless you, If you are now - | | | | 6.Avoid negative and pessimistic people. Stay away |
| there's hope and if you are at some point in your | | | | from complainers and whiners. |
| future now you have a tool to help you through it. | | | | 7.Set some long terms goals. Don't limit your thinking |
| Discouragement can prevent a person from seeing, | | | | because of the circumstances you are in |
| thinking or feeling clearly. It certainly increases your | | | | 8.Pray a lot. |
| stress and will impact every relationship you have | | | | 9.Think back on previous times in your life when you |
| regardless of whether it is personal or business. Trust | | | | were discouraged and see if you can find the good |
| me, I come from experience. I have been at the | | | | that ultimately came after the negative circumstances |
| bottom of the barrel and on my knees more times | | | | were over. |
| than I can remember, but I always came out of | | | | 10.Ask yourself - What can I learn form this? What am |
| whatever the situation or circumstances were with | | | | I supposed to be learning from this? |
| only a few permanent battle scars. One of my | | | | 11.Relax. |
| favorite authors, Eric Butterworth, says that in times of | | | | 12.Start a new hobby or activity. In one of my bouts |
| discouragement, fear, loneliness, uncertainty and | | | | with discouragement I started taking ballroom dancing |
| frustration can come creativity and a number of | | | | lessons. It helped. |
| learning or growth opportunities. | | | | 13.Go for a hike in the woods or mountains. Take a |
| Years ago, I learned this first hand. I won't bore you | | | | walk in a park. |
| with the gruesome details, suffice it to say that at a | | | | 14.Get a pet. |
| low point in my life with nowhere to turn I decided to | | | | 15. Start exercising. |
| write my first book of self-help fiction. That exercise | | | | 16.File this tip away for future reference when you |
| saved me. The book is called the Ancient Scrolls and | | | | may need it down the road. |
| once it was finished I then went on to write have | | | | There are numerous other things you can do. Don't limit |
| written over 45 more books. Writing that book during a | | | | your thinking but whatever you do remember giving up |
| time of turmoil was the catalyst that has led to my | | | | doesn't solve anything. Becoming a permanent |
| successful career as an author. Would I have written | | | | negative person because of your situation will only |
| that book and thus many others if I had not redirected | | | | ensure more time of discouragement in the future. |
| my pain into a creative endeavor? Who knows. | | | | Feeling sorry for yourself won't make things pass |
| So, what can you do while in the middle of any kind of | | | | more quickly. Feeling self-pity will only guarantee that |
| fear, pain, trouble or discouragement? Here are a few | | | | no one will want to be around you to help you. |
