4 Strategies I Learned About Coping When Things Go Wrong
Do you ever have moments where it feels as if the universe is slapping you across the face for no reason?
I had one today. When you’re doing your best to develop a positive mindset and better yourself when something goes wrong it can feel as if the universe is telling you not to bother.
What happened I hear you asking? I tripped over a curb, landed on cobblestones. and scraped the living shit out of both knees and a palm. It hurt just as much as you think hitting the pavement and having your skin ripped off would; luckily, I didn’t face plant.
My initial reaction, after “FUCK THAT HURT”, was to question the universe. I wondered what the point of meditating, journaling, and practicing gratitude was if things were going to go wrong. Bad things don’t happen to good people, right?
While picking myself up off the pavement, I reminded myself that I’m human — bad things happen. Events like this do not define me, what does is how I choose to react. Tripping over the curb was an isolated incident it wasn’t the universe saying “This is happening cause you suck, of course something like this would happen to you”, I just fell.
Right now, I’m sitting in bed — my legs still hurt like hell and I can barely walk, but I wanted 4 strategies for coping when things go wrong that came up for me while I was sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself as I think these things may help you stop going down an everything sucks rabbit hole when things turn sour.
Avoid Blaming Yourself
Sure I could have been paying attention, but beating myself up because I feel isn’t helpful. Tripping does not make me stupid; it was an isolated event and is not a reflection of my worth or abilities.
Accept Your Emotions
I tend to bottle things up until they become overwhelming to the point I explode. Instead, I lay on the couch, cleaned up my wounds, and cried because I was in physical pain and felt as if everything was going wrong.
Self-Love and Self-Compassion are Key
In these moments, it’s important to treat yourself with kindness and understanding. Everyone faces challenges; they do not determine your intrinsic value. After cleaning my wounds, I made sure to do small things to show myself love — I made some cacao and headed to bed to watch videos.
Ground Yourself in Gratitude
A little caveat, I’m not grateful for tripping, and while I know I’m lucky I didn’t faceplant saying things like “Just be grateful it wasn’t worse” or “It could’ve been worse” aren’t helpful. Tripping hurt and it sucked, but it didn’t define my day because there were amazing things that happened
- I had an arepa and it was delicious
- I bought cacao and soy milk at the supermarket
- The chilli/cinnamon cacao I made was delicious
- My boyfriend went out and got bandaids because we had none
- I talked to my mum via video chat
- I watched an episode of The Good Place in bed
- I chatted to friends who made off-color jokes because I got my period right after I fell
By reminding myself of the good things that happened today and anchoring myself in gratitude tripping did not define my day, it was just a thing that happened.
Today, I learned that when bad things happen, they are isolated events; they do not define me. I am still learning to accept my imperfections, express emotions, and engage in acts of self-love as I know these are tools that can help during setbacks. Grounding myself in gratitude and avoiding self-blame are also tools I can use to reshape my perspective and affirm that I hold the ability to define my own narrative.
Keep up to date with all things Hasn’t A Clue
- 💖 Click here to Get an email whenever I publish a new article ✨
- 💖 Follow me on Threads ✨
- 💖 Follow me on Instagram ✨