How To Stay Hopeful In Difficult Times: 3 Things That Help Immensely
When going through so many daily struggles, looking for sources of optimism is essential.
Researched, written by 
Roni Davis
Updated on July 9, 2023
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Whether you’ve faced health issues, financial struggles, or isolation from your family, it’s hard to keep a positive attitude amidst a lot of adversity.
How to stay hopeful in difficult times?
It’s easy to get stuck in your despair at the moment, but making an effort to find a silver lining in life can help you emerge from tough times as a stronger person.
In this article, we are taking a look at how to stay hopeful in difficult times.
We will also touch some of the best ways to add more positivity to your life.
It may not always be easy, but finding optimism in tough times can make future challenges less difficult.
How To Stay Hopeful In Difficult Times
1. Keep an Open Mind
When going through tough times, it’s easy to get weighed down by negative, closed thinking.
You may believe you’ll be destined to struggle forever and that there’s nothing you can do to make life easier.
This line of thinking can become very cyclical, and it’s best to try and break it before it wears you down completely.
When faced with adversity, try maintaining an open mind about your situation.
Tell yourself that you’ve struggled before and may struggle again, but that doesn’t mean the rest of your life will be miserable and you’ll eventually get through it.
Those reminders will go a long way and make you feel you can overcome any and all obstacles, especially this current one.
It can also help to recontextualize tough times into a learning experience, one that will allow you to take on future challenges with greater confidence.
By altering your perception of a situation, you are taking control and learning that finding hope is possible.
2. Take Care of Yourself
If you’re going through a challenging time in your life, you may forget to take proper care of your usual needs.
This can range from skipping breakfast or lunch to not showering for days at a time, sleeping more, or barely sleeping at all.
How to stay hopeful in difficult times so you continue to help yourself and others?
Whatever the case may be, it’s imperative that you not fall into a routine of neglecting your personal needs.
Self-care is one of the most important things you can do for yourself during tough times.
Take a relaxing bath, spend some time reading a book in the sunlight, practice emotional self care and do whatever else it is that gives you joy.
By remembering and participating in the good things in life, your current challenges will fall away and take up less of your mental space.
Some people try to dive into their workload to distract themselves from what is bothering them.
On one hand, it’s great to use hard work as a distraction because you earn your paycheck, or for people in school, good grades.
On the other hand, it can do more harm than good because it can add extra stress that you don’t need at the moment. So, take a day off, that will allow you time to recharge mentally and get through that rough patch in your life. You don’t need to take a day off all the time, but treat it as needed.
Sometimes, working up a sweat can help too. Lace up your running shoes, put your headphones in, and go for a jog around your neighborhood.
Or if you’d rather pump iron instead, head to the gym to take your mind off of things.
If you can’t get to a gym, working out in your home or at a nearby children’s park doing calisthenics can be just as effective.
You can’t go wrong with push-ups, sit-ups, and squats.
This addition to your daily life can potentially stick with you after you get through a rough patch in your life.
Not only will it take your mind away from negative thoughts temporarily, but it will also potentially make your mind stronger and you can feel more resilient when moving forward.
3. Surround Yourself with Loved Ones
If you’re in a position to be with the ones you love, take every opportunity to see them and have fun together.
Not only can being with your loved ones take your mind off of things, but they may be able to provide advice or a new perspective on your struggles.
Who knows, maybe they are the ones who can give you the best ideas for how to stay hopeful in difficult times.
Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with the ones that love you, that’s what they’re there for.
Human connection cannot be undervalued, so go out to lunch with friends, have a get-together with family, and find hope in those you surround yourself with.
Final Thoughts
When going through daily struggles, looking for sources of optimism is essential.
Whether it’s a change in your mindset, a soothing self-care regime, or the comfort of your loved ones – all of these can be helpful in tough times.
Just make sure to turn to these options, every day if you can.
If these don’t help, consider talking to a professional therapist, who can teach you to face adversities and be comfortable with the discomfort they create.
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Writer, blogger, and legal assistant operating out of the greater Philadelphia area. She writes for Mosser Legal, a criminal appeals lawyer in Philadelphia.