Navigating Everyday Challenges: Tips for Overcoming Common Obstacles

Many of us face similar challenges in our lives and how we approach them can make a difference. For example, we all age which is something that many of us fear in some ways. If I were to think of all the bad things that can come with aging and became avoidant about planning for it, I would probably become more distressed as I found signs that I was aging and would likely have more health problems. However, if I were to think of all the things to look forward to with aging and kept it in mind with my daily habits, then I would probably have more joy as I aged and be in healthier shape. Below are some common challenges and ways to overcome them.

Trust Issues

I have a lot of trust issues when it comes to allowing myself to feel close to others. In my experience there have been plenty of times when I have gotten close with someone who I thought was my friend or even best friend but then they do something to show I'm easily replaceable and hardly a thought in the back of their mind. Because of this, I have issues with allowing myself to feel close to anyone and have intentionally and unintentionally made many efforts to avoid making friends with other people. I have begun working towards overcoming this by being more open about my feelings and concerns. For example, I have told my husband and a few classmates little bits about this and I've been thinking on it a lot on my own at times. By openly talking about my feelings and concerns, I hear about other perspectives and positive experiences with friendships that lead me to think about it differently with a little more hope.

Lack of Motivation

Sometimes I find myself losing motivation when it comes to things like having a neat and clean house. I used to spend hours cleaning each day before I had my son, A, and so my house often looked clean, felt clean, and smelled clean. Of course, having a kid takes a lot of that time and energy that used to be spent cleaning and also contributes to a lot of mess and new clutter so it feels more and more hopeless after you've cleaned up the same items three times within the same half hour. One way that I've been trying to get myself back on track is by visualizing success. A has grown a little older and is four now so I picture my house being clean, orderly, and A having clean habits. When I picture my house clean and A as a contributor to the cleanliness, then I feel more optimistic and motivated and clean up things here and there that are beginning to look messy. A becomes interested and wants to help so then I let him and he feels proud of himself. This then leads me to want to clean more often.

Financial Crisis

We've been experiencing a pretty big financial crisis lately as we've been paying for my master's degree out of pocket and have used all our emergency money and investments, as well as have borrowed a few thousand dollars. In an effort to recover, we have been making every attempt to reduce our monthly bills. We've stopped doing anything extra, bought Christmas gifts that were very low-priced, and gotten creative with our meals and other necessities. It's working and we are gradually catching back up.