WHEN TIMES are tough, it’s easy to get down on yourself. You’re not making enough to pay bills or do the things you want to do, so you start feeling depressed. In this article, we’ll provide some useful tips and trick on how to be happy during hard times (And how to snap out of a bad mood quickly and with ease).
Key Takeaways
If you only take a few items away from this article, let them be these.
- Business leaders emphasize sales channel diversification to create stability, consistency, and resilience. If you’re relying solely on one income stream during a recession hit, you’re ripe for disruption.
- To survive during tough times, you must understand your cash flow.
- It’s essential to stay flexible and remember that there’s more than one way to build a customer base.
- You may want to invest some of your resources into precious metals. The stock market can lose value as soon as there is talk of a potential recession, unlike precious metals, which hold their value over the long term.
Staying Happy When Times Are Tough
Here are some of my best tools for when times get tough. It doesn’t matter if you own a business or whether you work a 9 to 5 job, these universal tips and tricks will help you feel better no matter your working situation. At MikevanderPoel.com, I help entrepreneurs succeed – If that’s something you’re interested in learning more about, feel free to sign up for my free weekly newsletter:
1. Stay Optimistic
When times get tough, you might wonder “Why do people become entrepreneurs?” – Taking on additional risk is the last thing you want to do when you’re already facing hardship. But tough times require endurance and stamina. When times are tough, focus on five things – your company, your community, your family, your house, and your spirit. Look at what you already have with gratitude and appreciation. When you set this goal every day, you’ll see the end of the tunnel.
Also, be positive. In tough times, it’s hard, but the other option is negative thoughts. Positivity is important for mental health; negativity causes stress, which causes illness, which means less time spent on your business.
As a starting point for positive thinking, focus on the best thing you have: This could be excellent health, a support system, or something else, and consider the dark times not as threatening, but as a challenging time and a chance to do good things. The human brain tends to focus on negative emotional reactions.
2. Look at the Big Picture
When starting a business, you have to live frugally. That way, during bad times you won’t have as much financial pressure. You’ll learn the amount of money you can live on, have fewer negative feelings, and can add other tasks to your daily life, such as exercise.
If you don’t have much work, do what you’ve always dreamed of doing. Cut back to the bare necessities and limit what you want. Maybe your surplus can bless someone in need. Remember the most important things and live happy.
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3. Relax with Cheap or Free Entertainment
When you’re wondering “Will my business be successful?” relax with inexpensive or free entertainment at the end of the day. There’s nothing wrong with taking some time to yourself sometimes. Play games to save money on movies. Get together with your best friend and other people, make an amazing dessert, and play games. Human beings are social creatures, so you’ll have a great time and spend approximately $10 doing simple things.
You can still eat out during difficult times if you look for lunch specials and drink lemon water. Rent movies from Redbox as an alternative to expensive ones. Use discount cards when you go to the movies.
4. Grow and Cook Your Own Food
During the summer, you can consider to put in a kitchen garden to save money. Slowing down, enjoying the present moment, and cooking your own food can be important steps to change your family and your finances. It’s also a great way to create positive experiences with your family.
5. Cook for the People You Love
To help out during hard times, prepare meals for your family and have them pick them up after work. On the weekends, you can prepare a potluck meal and enjoy it as a family. It will bring your family together, and you can help each other with problems.
Make dinner swaps – Choose a recipe you can freeze and make four batches. You can then bake it when you’re too tired to cook. It saves time and money.
You can cook healthy on a budget – Get a dinner club started and invite a few people every week to join you for dinner. This is an excellent way to connect with people dining alone.
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6. Use “Survival Mode” If Needed
When your business is struggling, work part-time outside the home and buy bargains at dollar stores to save money. Never turn down a job, no matter how little it pays. Job opportunities still exist, you just must look.
Sell things on Craiglist, eBay, and social media sites like Facebook Marketplace. You can get a lot for things you don’t use regularly. You can use that money to buy groceries and pay your bills when business is slow.
Consider your hourly cost before buying. If something costs $20 and you make $20 per hour, decide whether it’s worth earning it. Use this formula for every purchase. It’s surprising how rarely you buy.
7. Get Some Fresh Air and Stretch Your Legs
When you wonder “Why should I start a business in 2023?” and feel stressed about making a big decision, take some time to reflect first. Stretch your legs and get outside. Taking an exercise break boosts brain health so that you can develop new business ideas. You can exercise in other ways when you can’t get “real” exercise, though:
- Choose the stairs over the elevator. Consider walking or biking to work rather than driving.
- If you like the outdoors but won’t take any trips soon, plan your yards for the times. Make a bonfire pit if you like bonfires. Ask a neighbor if you can swim in his or her pool occasionally or find a pool or lake near you.
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8. Contribute to the Needs of Others
Regardless of how bad things get, someone is always in a tougher situation. Volunteer in your neighborhood to remind yourself of this. Doing something for others in bad situations during rough times feels good.
9. Focus on What Matters
It’s easy to get stuck in shiny object syndrome, but let go of unrealistic expectations and focus on what matters. Nothing comes with you, and nothing goes with you. Material things are just that, things. Remember the little things, like love for friends and family, and beautiful memories. If you knew you had a short time to live, you wouldn’t worry about so much stuff. Life’s challenges can seem overwhelming, but they’re just stuff.
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10. When All Else Fails, Read
Some great books provide ideas on how to be happy during difficult times. They include:
- How to be Happy (or at least less sad): A Creative Workbook
- You, Happier: the 7 Neuroscience Secrets of Feeling Good Based On Your Brain Type
- Feeling Great: The Revolutionary New Treatment for Depression and Anxiety.
These are some tips for how to be happy during hard times. As you work through the difficulties in your business, remember what’s important, and remember the difficult situations will pass.