What do you do when it all goes wrong?

What do you do when it all goes wrong?

Survival tactics for when everything goes wrong.

1. Laugh.

Laugh hard and laugh often. Laugh like there’s 
no tomorrow given the above, there may not 
be.

Seriously though. . .laughter will put you in a 
much better frame of mind to deal with life’s 
interruptions without losing your sanity.

2. Breathe.

If laughter isn’t possible, and sometimes it just 
isn’t, then focus on your breathing. Breathe in 
and out, in and out as deeply as possible until 
your pulse stops racing or you let go of the 
throat that somehow found its way into your 
grasp.

3. Regroup.

When the walls are caving in around you, take 
five minutes and figure out what you can do to 
keep at least one thing moving forward.

Follow-up on the email that may land you a new 
client. Submit your article to the various article 
submission sites. Pay a couple of bills. Do one 
thing, anything so that you can cross something 
off your *list*. It’s probably best if this 
something doesn’t involve interaction with 
others!

4. Give thanks.

“What? Give thanks? Are you insane?”

I can hear the grumbling from here. Do it 
anyway! Grab a piece of paper and make a list 
of everything that you are thankful for – chances 
are, you have it better than millions of 
others.

Here’s a quick list of things that I know I’m 
grateful for: my health, family and friends, my 
pets, my business and my clients, sunrises and 
sunsets, flowers, chocolate ice cream, the sound 
of the ocean and a crisp New England fall 
day.

5. Get out.

Get out of the house and out of the office. 
Whether you choose to go for a walk, have lunch 
with friends, go window shopping (leave credit 
cards at home) or browse the shelves at your 
local library, get out and enjoy yourself for a 
bit. You’ll return in a much refreshed frame of 
mind and ready to tackle whatever life throws 
your way.

Let’s be real. Sometimes problems are just 
problems and not “opportunities”. Sometimes 
lemons make bad lemonade. And not all clouds 
have a silver lining. When everything goes 
wrong, try one (or all) of the above techniques, 
accept it and move on knowing that things 
will get better.