Strategies for Dealing with Personal Problems
Over the years I have been fortunate enough to have developed well-tuned coping strategies for challenges in life. In fact, I would say next to wedding photography, maintaining quality work while coping with personal problems is my forte. People deal with life’s obstacles in different ways, but there are certain steps you can take to harness these challenges in life to continue to absorb inspiration and stay motivated when misfortune surrounds you.
The Businesswoman’s Guide to Positive Coping Skills – Know That You’re Not Alone
I was 22 when I lost my 15 year old little sister in a tragic accident. That was a major life hurdle, which set me up to learn how to deal with personal problems from a very young age. No one is exempt from life’s problems. Whether it is a death in the family, financial struggles, or marital problems - all of us face personal difficulties in our lifetime. There comes a point in every entrepreneur’s life when they face a personal issue that seems to be unavoidable. Well, let me tell you, I’ve had my share of hurdles and I can say from personal experience that no hurdle has ever kept me from my responsibilities. In other words, I don’t make excuses. I think about it this way, that hurdle was manufactured for someone to jump over it, either I’ll fall flat on my ass in my attempt, or I’ll make it over the top, but I’m definitely jumping.
The Businesswoman’s Guide to Positive Coping Skills – Make Survival a Priority
Developing positive coping strategies to deal with personal problems gets a little easier when you identify your driving force. What works for me (and should work for the majority of people) is realizing that survival is a priority. Regardless of what is going on in your life, you still have to deal with the issue at hand. Your bills have to be paid regardless of your personal issues, and they will always need to be paid, so the driving force behind the rest of the coping strategies for dealing with personal problems is understanding that. Whether I was going through a divorce or moving, my wedding photography business always came first.
The Businesswoman’s Guide to Positive Coping Skills – Make the Choice to Be Happy and Stay Focused on Goals
I know this concept is a little overused, but there is nothing truer than the fact that you have the power to choose your emotions. You can wake up and choose to succumb to the stress and anxiety or you can ask yourself, “what can I do to put something positive into my life?” Every day that I wake up, I can choose to be a negative person, or I can make the choice to proclaim how lucky I am to be able to walk into my beautiful portrait studio in the Hudson Valley, and capture the memories of some of the best clients a photographer could hope for. You can wake up every day and be a negative person or you can realize and appreciate that you actually woke up! I practice self-care in many ways, including making sure my surroundings are clean and pretty, ordering massages on-demand to my portrait studio, and following a healthy meal plan.That choice to be positive and forward thinking will help you to focus on your goals. You choose how you wake up and start your day, so choose wisely, because it can be the difference between success and failure.
The Businesswoman’s Guide to Positive Coping Skills – Be Productive in the Face of Your Personal Problems
Now that you’ve had a reality check and realized you are awake (you’re blessed that you’re still on this earth) you have more options. You can choose whatever you want to do. I have always chosen to be productive. Being productive is being a successful person; productivity pays bills. I grew up very poor, and I remember living with my stepmother who was not happy to have me in her life. However, she forced me to be the person that I am today in a lot of ways. My stepmother did not believe in sitting down or relaxing. Not only have I come to implement this in my own life – I have made it make me money.
Growing up as a little girl a big challenge was dealing with a stepmother who did not allow down time, which quickly conditioned me. If she caught me sitting down she would give me a chore. I was conditioned from a young age that sitting idle was wrong and that you always had to be doing something. That’s my mentality and how I grew up – there is no sitting idle. If you truly want to achieve your personal goals, then it’s time to cut the “oh woe is me” act. There is always something that has to be done and you have to get up. Bite the bullet and get back to work because working puts you in a productive place.
The Businesswoman’s Guide to Positive Coping Skills – Finish an Overdue Task from Your Task List
Pull out your to-do list and randomly choose and finish one of those tasks you just haven’t gotten around to. Even if it’s something as trivial as buying lightbulbs to install in that living room lamp you’ve been meaning to do for months. Take as much time as you need and get that one task done. The feeling you will get from achieving a task (no matter how trivial) will put you on the right mind-path. This makes the next tasks easier to wrap your brain around. For me, working, decorating, or gardening puts me in an accomplishment place, creating a domino effect. It’s like going to the gym, if you just get through the first session, they get easier. This strategy has kept me from some dark places in my life during some very difficult times.
Figure out what you need to do to make yourself successful and just do it. In Part 2 I'll be discussing some further steps you can take to power through life's storms!
Always Make Healthy Choices...Vivian