ARE YOU FEELING DISCOURAGED?
Are you feeling discouraged today? It is easy to watch the success of others all around us and convince ourselves that we are alone in our feelings of discouragement. Trust me when I say discouragement happens to us all.
Responding to discouragement
In life, we experience frustration in so many different situations. This has happened in my financial situation, my job, and just my life in general. When things seem to be progressing slowly I begin to second guess myself and the path that I am on. Time and experience have taught me over the years to keep going and keep trying despite my feelings. In my job, I often feel discouraged things are ever-changing in the world of healthcare and it is often hard to keep up. I have had to learn over the last few years to be patient with myself and just to do the best that I can.
Here are just a few situations that are prime causes of discouragement in our lives. We cannot avoid these situations but we can learn to recognize them and deal with them in a healthy way. Learning to deal with the root cause of our problems can help us to live more joyfully and feel more fulfilled in life. Avoiding these root causes and trying to deal with only the issue at hand can lead to more frustration and discouragement.
Causes of discouragement
Unmet expectations
unfulfilled goals
fatigue
unreasonable expectations
feeling like a failure
Believing in error that our worth lies in becoming successful
What we believe about success
I have read endless stories of successful people. Many of these stories paint a picture of a life filled with smooth transitions and easy opportunities along the road to success. This could not be further from reality. Success does not just happen to us and it is not always easy. Success is in choosing to continue despite the struggles. Success is often found in the lessons learned through painful experiences and even failure. Along the path to success in many areas in life, we will go through periods of discouragement. When we find ourselves faced with trials and even discouragement the way we respond in those moments is what determines success.
I just wanted to offer some encouragement to you where you are today. Along the road to financial freedom we can get discouraged by the lack of obvious success just remember this does not mean you have failed. It takes time, hard work, and dedication to achieve financial freedom. Just keep putting in the effort and eventually you will begin to see some results. Success does not have a clear cut path and does not look the same for everyone. Success does not define us as a person and does not add value to who we are as a person. Remember success in life is not black and white. Success cannot be found in the amount of money you earn, the degree or career that you hold, the family that you raise or even in the relationships that you build. Success is becoming the best version of yourself, it is challenging yourself to improve right where you are every day. Success is finding joy even in the discouraging times in life and meeting all of life’s obstacles with courage and faith that tomorrow will be better.
How we are dealing with discouragement
These past few months have been incredibly discouraging for my husband and me. We are trying our best to stay positive and survive as we are faced with multiple challenges. We were quarantined yet again for possible Covid exposure. Approximately a week later we were informed that our daughter’s daycare was going to be closing permanently. My daughter was enrolled at 8 weeks old and we have loved her daycare. My husband and I felt comfortable with the care that she received every day and she has been thriving. My heart broke at this news but sadly I understood that Covid had taken a toll on the daycare. They had a forced closure this year when they were not able to meet requirements to become a pandemic childcare center. Combined with lack of enrollment afterwards and decreased funding the daycare never could quite make up for that loss.
Soon after the daycare closure we also had one of those months where everything seems to break. Our refrigerator died, the Dryer stopped working & Air conditioning required servicing. We handled each crisis a step at a time and with lots of patience and prayer but the discouragement was evident in both of our lives. This month after all of this happened we received notice that our rent will be increasing by $140 a month in September. Discouraged seems like it hardly even describes how we feel currently and in a lot of ways we just want to throw in the towel. However, we will not because we know that God’s plans are greater than all of the challenges that we face today.
The blessings in our current crisis
We are blessed that my sister has temporarily volunteered to fill in as childcare while we both juggle work. We have started our search but have met a few challenges in the current climate. Many local daycares have raised prices, closed entirely, or maxed out on the number of children that they can handle. We are still actively searching for childcare and praying that the right one comes along. In the meantime, my sister continues to watch her for us while we both work our full-time jobs. We are both blessed to have jobs that help us meet our bills and we are very grateful for this. In everything that we are currently struggling through God has provided what we need just in time.
Despite everything that seems to be falling apart around us I try to remind myself of these things when faced with trials like our current situation.
Things to remember when dealing with discouragement
Acknowledge your feelings of discouragement and accept that it is ok to be discouraged
Don’t rush yourself, take everything a day at a time as you cope with your frustration. You cannot fix everything in one day so be patient with yourself and give yourself time.
Turn to friends and family for encouragement. I recognize that not everyone has someone supportive in their life but if you do make sure to lean on them for support.
Pray, Pray & Pray some more. If you believe that prayer changes things this should be the first thing you do. Faith and prayer can make a huge difference.
Don’t give up. Keep trusting and believing that things will get better. Keep working hard where you are right now and things will soon improve.
Think back to the last time you were discouraged. How did you overcome that obstacle? What helped and what did not help? Our past challenges can be a great guide as we move forward in life showing us what to do or even what not to do next time.
No matter what happens remember
Remember no matter what happens today that tomorrow is a new day. Each of us goes through discouraging and challenging situations in our lives, perseverance through those trials is one of the most important things. Joy is hard to find in these situations but not at all impossible. Redirecting our thoughts and reminding ourselves to stay positive in these situations can change the whole outlook simply by challenging us to keep trying. No one has ever succeeded in life by giving up during the difficult times. However, many have reached far better places in life by pushing through the challenges with faith and courage.
