The Things to Do When the Going Gets Tough

Sometimes, the going does get tough. We all know the pithy saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” But then, to get yourself going is not all that easy to manage, especially when everyone around you is acting suspicious and you have absolutely no clue as to why that is that case. You have seen one of those scenarios, you say? I know we all do, don’t we? It just happens to happen to every one of us.

It is at those times that you need to put every last bit of pluck in you on red alert. You return home late in the evening after a harrowing day at the office. You are aware that you just do not have the strength to go back the next day. And yet, that critical report needs to be sent on time. Or you have something equally important to do that has to be done the very next day, on account of the deadline.

What do you do with your current state in such circumstances?

While it would be most interesting to find out what exactly you personally prefer to do to gather the gumption to go back to the office the next day, let me relate what I prefer to do.

I am taxing my body and mind all the time, whether at the office or away from it. I am careful about the food I eat, for sure. I am not always careful, however, about getting myself that bit of exercise that I must find time for on a daily basis. When my nerves are frayed and I feel utterly depressed, the first thing I know is that I must not let it get any further.

So what do I do about it? Here are a few things I do:

• I get some light exercise. As a kid, I was hooked to basketball for some years. I even attended special training for it. That training introduced me to some light, warm-up exercises that I haven’t forgotten to this day. I use those exercises in difficult times.
• I like a place with plenty of fresh air. Those are usually places with plenty of trees and greenery all around. University campuses and large townships near the city can be safely expected to still retain a good number of trees. I just go to such places for whatever reason and spend there anything from 15 minutes to an hour or so.
• I clean up my place really well. The utensils, floor, shelves, and even the porch outside get a complete scrubbing when I do it with a purpose. I have observed my wife do such cleaning many times, so I know what exactly I must do to clean it up so that I really like being at home. A home is the best place to relieve frayed nerves. Once I start cleaning it up, I don’t stop until it is thoroughly cleaned up or I am dog tired. Either way, it helps me obtain much needed relief. Believe it or not, you are a transformed person at the end of it.
• I cook for myself, sometimes. You see, I stay away from home for work-related reasons. Staying all alone isn’t fun, to be sure. But cooking all alone, with full license to cook like a chef or completely botch up everything, is a pleasure in a class of its own. Plus, whatever the result, I get to enjoy and internalize a work of art all my own!
• As a matter of course, I have come to enjoy solitude very much. But I also enjoy select company, whether online or in person, though I do much prefer the latter option. I just go meet someone I’d enjoy being with; it could be a child I know or even the neighbor! I go and talk to this person thinking to myself that it is essentially me I am talking to. Try it.

In addition to these, I would recommend anything and everything that makes for a welcome change for your body and spirit. Sometimes, just leaving the back door open to let the fresh air in can work wonders. At other times, nothing ever seems to work, so it makes sense to be stubborn and persist any way. And it does help to keep trying.

Over the years, I have made some recordings and videos of my little one, since those times when she was a cute little bundle of joy. That bundle of joy has now transformed into a very young princess now! It also throws some awesome tantrums sometimes!! In those recordings and videos, she’s so terribly cute; I regret she had to grow up. But those clips mean much more than the world to me.  They are a great source of courage, inspiration, faith, and raw will power.

Some of my music and those clips together make a very powerful cathartic agent. And I use my agent to exceedingly good effect. They make me laugh or cry, dance for joy, and get all worked up! It’s such a simple thing to just recall those times when I made those recordings; it gets me in chirpy mood alright.

I hope and pray for you, my reader, that you have some such formidable companions yourself. When you feel utterly down and out, make good use of what you have. Life is short, and we haven’t the time to waste on petty things.

Get your fancy boots on or whatever else that invokes your gusto the next time you are ‘UN-well’. Suffering and joy, crying and laughing out loud, and even simply going for a walk can cure you. Whatever it is you do, make sure you are doing it very, very deliberately. Sing out loud in the bath, jump all around your pad, work yourself into a frenzy just watching a ball game on TV, or just holler for help.

I think you’ll manage quite well!

Another thing you can do is just type away furiously to comment here to tell me about the thing you do. If you do one of the things mentioned here, or if you have one your very own, please do tell me about it! That will help too!! My response is, of course, guaranteed.

And then, of course, go write your own piece on the things you do!

Godspeed…