Expect it to be hard. Pain features quite heavily in the making of most bad days yet the relationship most people have with pain is confusing.The truth is that pain, even though it feels traumatic and awful at the time, is part of the process. Accepting that pain is going to be part of the equation is a solid place to start.

Accepting that pain is part of the equation

Bad is not as bad as it seems. Understand that every experience, however bad it feels, can always be seen as progress.

Acknowledging the good in the bad

It’s not about toxic positivity. It’s not about avoiding negative emotions or apathy. It’s not about reassurance or dismissing the gravity of a situation, of course not.This is about just after that. When the rain stops and the clouds part. Just then, that moment when you have the hope that the sun is about to come out. It’s at that moment you look around and you say, you know what, things have been awful lately but, actually, here’s some good that has come out of it all.

You can feel the pain and find the good in it

You are likely burning out because of the mental workout you're enduring.Look backward. Work out your triggers and avoid them.

Understanding burnout and your triggers

<h2 data-selectable-paragraph="">With ‘side hustles’ on the rise, it’s important we look after ourselves</h2><figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*vCwG_GoSUqK" width="692" height="692"><figcaption class="lm bm gp gn go ln lo bn b bo bp co" data-selectable-paragraph="" dir="ltr">Photo by <a class="au lp" href="https://unsplash.com/@tangerinenewt?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Tangerine Newt</a> on <a class="au lp" href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=medium&amp;utm_medium=referral" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Unsplash</a></figcaption></figure>691 days.That’s how long it’s been since I wrote my first article on the internet; the official start of my side hustling journey. It’s safe to say a lot has changed, <a href="https://writingcooperative.com/microscopic-goals-23baac3a4e76" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">namely my goals</a>. It’s also true that nothing has changed at all. A paradox, I know. 691 days later, I’ve realized that if you can sustain a side hustle for a decent period of time, you’ll need a mechanism for dealing with the tough days.A reoccurring theme over the last few years is that the bad days come, regardless of place, mindset or wellbeing. They always come and every time I’m as surprised as the last. I think though, I’ve learned a few ways to deal with them.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">1. Accepting that pain is part of the equation</h1>Pain features quite heavily in the making of most bad days yet the relationship most people have with pain is confusing. I was confused for a long time about pain. I remember sitting on my living room floor, crying my eyes out because I hadn’t yet found out what I wanted to do with my life (<a href="https://medium.com/mind-cafe/4-years-ago-i-realised-that-self-awareness-was-the-most-important-aspect-of-happiness-fb2fa75e047d" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">yep, true story</a>). At that moment, in the midst of that pain, I thought I had done everything wrong.It’s funny, that moment, in the depths of pain turned out to be one of the most pivotal, life-changing moments of my life. It was by giving in to the pain and feeling completely vulnerable that I started to find my way. The truth is that pain, even though it feels traumatic and awful at the time, is part of the process. For me, accepting that pain is going to be part of the equation is a solid place to start.Principle 1: Expect it to be hard.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">2. Acknowledging the good in the bad</h1>I’m just coming out of a little bit of burnout, more like a candle taring through its wick rather than a full-on forest fire. Nonetheless, the flame has gone out. Not because I’ve been working too hard after hours but more so because I’ve been psychologically piling on the pressure and it’s become a drain.I was in a daze of expectations and inaction. It was a constant cycle of feeling like a failure, finding evidence to feel more like a failure, I felt myself sliding further and further into the burnout hole. On the third day though (today), I reemerged with new clarity. I can objectively see, that I’ve done that thing again. That thing whereby I pile on the pressure for no good reason and paralyze myself. Years ago, this would have been a 2-week stint of inaction or enough for me to throw in the towel. But because I’ve been here so many times, the cycle is getting shorter. That’s progress. That’s the good in the bad.Over the last 2 years, I’ve learned to understand that every experience, however bad it feels, can always be seen as progress.Principle 2: Bad is not as bad as it seems.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">3. You can feel the pain and find the good in it</h1>It’s not about <a href="https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/toxic-positivity#:~:text=Toxic%20positivity%20involves%20dismissing%20negative,and%20a%20feeling%20of%20disconnection." rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">toxic positivity</a>. It’s not about avoiding negative emotions or apathy. It’s not about reassurance or dismissing the gravity of a situation, of course not. This isn’t an argument for smiling through the pain, I’m all for having a cry and saying the world needs to go in the bin. I do it often.I suppose this is about just after that. When the rain stops and the clouds part. Just then, that moment when you have the hope that the sun is about to come out. It’s at that moment you look around and you say, you know what, things have been awful lately but, actually, here’s some good that has come out of it all.Principle 3: After the rain, look for the sun.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">4. Understanding burnout and your triggers</h1>You are likely burning out because of the mental workout you're enduring.<BLOCKQUOTE>“One hundred percent of the fatigue of the sedentary worker in good health is due to psychological factors, by which we mean emotional factors.”- Dr. A. A. Brill</BLOCKQUOTE>My burnout will be different from yours because although we collide on both being humans, my life will have been wildly different from yours. My triggers will be your levers and vice versa. My take is not to recommend that one size fits all and that if you simply follow these 4 steps you’ll never have a bad day again, nope, instead my theory is that if you work out what you’re triggers are, you’ll be able to avoid them.The best way I’ve found to do this is to look backward. My triggers, from doing a bit of a self-assessment, seem to be idolizing people that have become uber-successful. Once I start going down the rabbit hole of YouTubers' yearly income report videos I know I’m in for a few bad days. So I avoid them. The same is true for eating poorly a few too many days in a row, not working on my side projects, and spending too much time internalizing my life rather than living it. But those are just mine.Principle 4: Work out your triggers.<h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">At the end of the page</h1>The bad days will come. Part of the problem is thinking anything other. When they do though, expecting them is the first step in accepting them. Fearing them will only make their appearance worse.It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom though. There is good in the bad if you care to look closely enough and you can reduce the number of those bad days by simply understanding who you are and what triggers them.☂️ Join the movement at <a href="https://evearnoldwrites.substack.com/?r=6og65&amp;utm_campaign=pub&amp;utm_medium=web" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">Occupation Happy</a>, we’re growing fast!

That’s how long it’s been since I wrote my first article on the internet; the official start of my side hustling journey. It’s safe to say a lot has changed, namely my goals. It’s also true that…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

mentalhealth

Mental Health

With ‘side hustles’ on the rise, it’s important we look after ourselves

That’s how long it’s been since I wrote my first article on the internet; the official start of my side hustling journey. It’s safe to say a lot has changed, <a href="https://writingcooperative.com/microscopic-goals-23baac3a4e76">namely my goals </a>. It’s also true that nothing has changed at all. A paradox, I know. 691 days later, I’ve realized that if you can sustain a side hustle for a decent period of time, you’ll need a mechanism for dealing with the tough days.

A reoccurring theme over the last few years is that the bad days come, regardless of place, mindset or wellbeing. They always come and every time I’m as surprised as the last. I think though, I’ve learned a few ways to deal with them.

1. Accepting that pain is part of the equation

Pain features quite heavily in the making of most bad days yet the relationship most people have with pain is confusing. I was confused for a long time about pain. I remember sitting on my living room floor, crying my eyes out because I hadn’t yet found out what I wanted to do with my life (<a href="https://medium.com/mind-cafe/4-years-ago-i-realised-that-self-awareness-was-the-most-important-aspect-of-happiness-fb2fa75e047d">yep, true story </a>). At that moment, in the midst of that pain, I thought I had done everything wrong.

It’s funny, that moment, in the depths of pain turned out to be one of the most pivotal, life-changing moments of my life. It was by giving in to the pain and feeling completely vulnerable that I started to find my way. The truth is that pain, even though it feels traumatic and awful at the time, is part of the process. For me, accepting that pain is going to be part of the equation is a solid place to start.

Principle 1: Expect it to be hard.

I’m just coming out of a little bit of burnout, more like a candle taring through its wick rather than a full-on forest fire. Nonetheless, the flame has gone out. Not because I’ve been working too hard after hours but more so because I’ve been psychologically piling on the pressure and it’s become a drain.

I was in a daze of expectations and inaction. It was a constant cycle of feeling like a failure, finding evidence to feel more like a failure, I felt myself sliding further and further into the burnout hole. On the third day though (today), I reemerged with new clarity. I can objectively see, that I’ve done that thing again. That thing whereby I pile on the pressure for no good reason and paralyze myself. Years ago, this would have been a 2-week stint of inaction or enough for me to throw in the towel. But because I’ve been here so many times, the cycle is getting shorter. That’s progress. That’s the good in the bad.

Over the last 2 years, I’ve learned to understand that every experience, however bad it feels, can always be seen as progress.

Principle 2: Bad is not as bad as it seems.

3. You can feel the pain and find the good in it

It’s not about <a href="https://rightasrain.uwmedicine.org/mind/well-being/toxic-positivity#:~:text=Toxic%20positivity%20involves%20dismissing%20negative,and%20a%20feeling%20of%20disconnection.">toxic positivity </a>. It’s not about avoiding negative emotions or apathy. It’s not about reassurance or dismissing the gravity of a situation, of course not. This isn’t an argument for smiling through the pain, I’m all for having a cry and saying the world needs to go in the bin. I do it often.

I suppose this is about just after that. When the rain stops and the clouds part. Just then, that moment when you have the hope that the sun is about to come out. It’s at that moment you look around and you say, you know what, things have been awful lately but, actually, here’s some good that has come out of it all.

Principle 3: After the rain, look for the sun.

4. Understanding burnout and your triggers

You are likely burning out because of the mental workout you're enduring.

“One hundred percent of the fatigue of the sedentary worker in good health is due to psychological factors, by which we mean emotional factors.”- Dr. A. A. Brill

My burnout will be different from yours because although we collide on both being humans, my life will have been wildly different from yours. My triggers will be your levers and vice versa. My take is not to recommend that one size fits all and that if you simply follow these 4 steps you’ll never have a bad day again, nope, instead my theory is that if you work out what you’re triggers are, you’ll be able to avoid them.

The best way I’ve found to do this is to look backward. My triggers, from doing a bit of a self-assessment, seem to be idolizing people that have become uber-successful. Once I start going down the rabbit hole of YouTubers' yearly income report videos I know I’m in for a few bad days. So I avoid them. The same is true for eating poorly a few too many days in a row, not working on my side projects, and spending too much time internalizing my life rather than living it. But those are just mine.

Principle 4: Work out your triggers.

The bad days will come. Part of the problem is thinking anything other. When they do though, expecting them is the first step in accepting them. Fearing them will only make their appearance worse.

It doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom though. There is good in the bad if you care to look closely enough and you can reduce the number of those bad days by simply understanding who you are and what triggers them.

☂️ Join the movement at <a href="https://evearnoldwrites.substack.com/?r=6og65&utm_campaign=pub&utm_medium=web">Occupation Happy </a>, we’re growing fast!

4 Principles for Dealing With the Bad Days

Accepting that pain is part of the equation

Acknowledging the good in the bad

You can feel the pain and find the good in it

Understanding burnout and your triggers

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