How to be happy when you are discouraged?
In life, there will be times when you feel like you’re not good enough or you’re not appreciated and that’s normal. Feeling down when you are going through a hard time and no one is there for you? Or when you created something and showed it to other people and they say that it’s not good enough or it doesn’t matter. According to dictionary.com discouraged is having lost confidence or enthusiasm; disheartened. “Oh, do you like to paint? I hate to break the news but it doesn’t look like you know what you’re doing.” How would you feel if people say that to you? Now you will not be confident in drawing or doing what you love anymore because you are afraid that people will judge you again. Feeling discouraged can lead a person to stop doing what he or she relishes. It doesn’t matter if you’re not good at something as long as it’s something that makes you feel happy and special, then do it. Someone who is discouraged will always have doubt on themselves, what if it’s not good enough, what if no one like it, what if it’s not something they want. But what if they like it, what if it was good enough, what if they want it, you’ll never know will you, unless you show them. Think of being discouraged as a time in your life where you are knocked back on the path of pursuing your dream. You have to try different ways to get past and of course, like all journey there will be obstacles and hurdles on the way; There will be bruises and scars.
Love Yourself
Have you ever heard of the phrase “Love yourself”. I’m sure you are all aware of that. Self love is really important, understand that you are the one that is in control of your own life, choice or destiny. Being able to first encourage yourself, telling yourself you can do it is a very powerful thing that most people can’t do. Don’t have doubt in yourself, believe in your potential and the things that you can do. Know that nothing is more empowering than leaning for your own comfort and enjoying it. When you give yourself more love, you will be a person that is not easily discouraged. It’s not called “selfish” to once in a while make yourself a priority.
Learn from your mistakes
Imagine that you worked all night writing an essay for your professor and when you finally turned it in she said that your work was not enough and you need to be better than this. So what do you do next? You improve, learn what your mistake was and encourage yourself to do better. You can do better. Get stronger and never give in.
Don’t Give Up
Often times when people feel discouraged they would want to give up on what they are doing. But remember this quote: “Before you give up think about the reason why you held on for so long.” If you give up, don’t you think that all the time that you use to work on that thing will be wasted. Don’t give up halfway, at least finish it and see how it turns out before deciding to quit. Know that giving up is not an option.
It’s alright to not be fine
Remember that it’s ok to break, it’s ok to feel vulnerable, it’s ok to not be ok. Give yourself time, let yourself break but remember to get back up and heal. Spending more time with the people you love and supports you will enhance your mood. They will help you go through tough time by being alongside you. Consider going out with your family or start sharing your problems with friends you know you can trust. It will make you feel better to just let it out, you won’t have to worry about them judging you.
Back to Courage
Pam Stucky, author of several books including mystery stated “Just learn to be courageous, If “discouraged” means having moved away from courage, then is the antidote as “simple” as “re-couraging” ourselves? Moving back toward courage? If courage is bravery, then maybe when we are discouraged, what we’re really feeling is fear. The further away we are from courage, the closer we are to our fear.” Don’t run away from your fear learn to face it and deal with it head on. Fear are only there to make you stronger. You can’t fear the same things for the rest of your life. To not be discourage also means for you to be encouraging yourself, learn to motivate other people if they are down, comfort them and make them feel better.
Discouragement is a common problem yet it can be dangerous. Remember that there are people in the world who like to point out the negative of people. Don’t be those kind of person, if you see something beautiful in someone, speak it. If you have learned how to do all the things above then before you even know it, you are back on the path to pursuing your dream. So next time when people tell you that you are not good enough, Kim Quindlen, a writer for thought co, wrote “Acknowledge it. Allow it to sting you. Address the wound, but do not allow it to seep into your soul. Instead, remember that no person can define you. Nothing can define you. Even you can’t define you in the moments where you’re feeling worthless or helpless or judgmental of yourself. You are figuring yourself out everyday, so try new things and stay committed to what you love to do. This doesn’t mean to not take other people comment into your work but to know which comments to keep and which to ignore. So keep your head held high and never give in to all those words that hurt you instead use it as a motivation to push you harder, for one day you will prove them wrong.