Not very confident.
Pretty much defeated.
Ever felt like that?
I'm sure you have.
Here's some things we always have to remember when we are feeling like this:
1. You are not the center of the universe (stop making it all about YOU).
Yup...It's not about me! So many times when we are feeling discouraged or defeated, we tend to make everything about us. Finding little ways to help others gets me out of my self-centered thinking, and then I’m not wallowing in self-pity anymore – I’m starting to think about what others need. Thus, thinking about others instead of oneself helps solve feelings of discouragement and defeat.
2. You are more than one thing.
No matter who or what you've done, you're more than one thing. I’m not just one thing. I’m not always productive – sometimes I am, but sometimes I’m unproductive too. I’m not always motivated — sometimes I am, but other times I’m feeling lazy. And obviously I don’t always have great ideas either – because that’s impossible. The truth is, I can be many things, and remembering this helps me stretch my identity so it isn’t so fragile. Then it doesn’t matter if someone thinks I didn’t do a good job – because I don’t always do a good job. I make mistakes. I am less than perfect. And that’s perfectly OK. And on the other side of that, I'm not just one mistake. No matter how big or how small the mistake...that mistake doesn't define me.
3. You will not get today back.
Make the best of it. Today will be yesterday very soon--So don't let it pass you by because you're feeling bad for yourself. Discouragement and feeling defeated is real and it's going to happen but we have to work hard to combat that.
4. Complaining doesn't help.
When I get in a funk, I have a tendency to complain out loud to everyone around who’s close enough to hear me. Obviously, this doesn’t help them, or me. And as soon as I catch myself doing this, I force myself to shift gears. If I took 10% of the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving your present problem, you’d be surprised by how well and how fast things can work out.
5. Feeling discouraged and defeated is a sign that it’s time to make a change.
That could be a change of heart, change of perspective, change of habits or a change of environment. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. What needs to change? Make that change.
6. Keep moving forward.
Not too long ago I got a tattoo that reminds me to keep moving forward. Sometimes that's all we can do...Take one more step. Take that next step. As small as it might be...take it! Keep moving forward!