20 Ways To Get Through the Day in Challenging Times

1.  Get out of bed.

Motivation does not create action; action creates motivation. 

2.  Feed your pets.

3.  Wash your face and brush your teeth.

4. Check in on your physical vitals–reflect on your emotional state–assess your overall wellbeing.

5.  Make a decision –

  • You are up now and have done the essential things. 

  • Should I stay up or go back to bed?

    • Am I well or sick?

    • Do I feel a bit better now that I have accomplished some essential tasks?

    • What is the one thing I need to do today?

      • Can I muster the energy? 

6.  Follow through on your decision.

  • If you stay up, decide what things you must do today.

  • If you go back to bed, how long will you stay, and how can you make sure it supports your self-care.

7.  Gather the resources that you know help you feel stronger, better, more hopeful, more resolved:

  • Contact a friend

  • Breathe quietly for 5 minutes

  • Read a poem. Write a poem. Draw a picture. Look at pictures. 

  • Choose your daily mantra 

    • Collect quotations that inspire you or make up a saying that works for you. 

    • Repeat the daily one at intervals.

    • Post it in places where you will see it throughout the day

      • Refrigerator– computer screen– car visor– card in your pocket

  • If you have chosen a quotation from a famous person, reflect on their life

    • Mark Twain always works for me because he is astute, rebellious, funny, and he repeatedly overcame hard times throughout his life, so he knew what he was talking about. 

    • Then reflect on your life–what hard times have you overcome? How did you do it? Will that work in this situation? What else might you need in this situation? 

8. Read and reflect on your “Wins” list.

If you don’t have a “Wins” list, now is a good time to start one. Simply list all the wins you have had and then keep your list up to date. These can be big like finishing your dissertation or small like getting out of bed or starting the dishwasher.

9. Choose which of the multitude of current crises you will focus on. 

We can’t fight all the world’s battles, but don’t give up.

Choose 1-3 that you will focus on and decide what it is you can and will do. 

10. Connect with others who focus on your choices. 

Community. Community. Community.

11. Look for beauty in the world each day.

Through art, nature, human interaction, music

12. Spend 15 minutes each day in nature. 

  Walk around the block. Plant a garden. 

13. Try to be near natural water if possible. 

Go to the beach. Go fishing. Sit by the city water fountain. 

14. Broaden your perspective. 

 If you are older: 

 Take a genuine look at what the younger generation is focused on rather than complaining they aren’t like you were when you were their age. [From my experience working with younger people, they are amazing and give me hope.]

If you are younger:

 Take a genuine look at what the older generation went through when they were your age and what they did to make a difference. [You might learn some things and you will probably develop more respect for what they have been through and what they have done–not to say they might also have abandoned their resolve later in their lives. Study that to see how you might avoid getting caught up in the daily and forgetting the more important things. 

15. Nurture hope. 

16.  Reach out: Help someone who is struggling. Volunteer somewhere. Give of your time and money. 

17. Remember: we are all in this together. 

Don’t try to go it alone. 

Community. Community. Community. 

18.  Walk a labyrinth (Wellington Park next to the dog park), practice contemplative dance, make a contemplative or calming playlist (or use Spotify’s ready-made lists; the Calming Classical is good), practice yoga, attend a Sound Bath or Salt Cave activity, practice any kind of physical movement with intent to be still and silent.

19. Start or continue writing in your journal, paint a mandala each day for a month, write your life story, read life-affirming books and articles (focus on how others have conquered hard times), be creative in any form that moves you. 

20. Breathe in. Breathe out. 

*If these 20 things do not help, consider scheduling a therapy session to explore how that might help you. 

Add to this list as you find things you find helpful. Share the list with friends. 


Anxiety, LGBTQ+, Mindfulness, Stress ReductionSharon Martin