When Bad Things Keep Happening, Here’s How You Move On

The Process is always the same: Grounding. Stillness. Movement.

The first thing to cope with something bad is ground yourself back into reality.

Right now you are completely inside your head.

The negative thing has gotten a hold of you and your mind is probably bouncing all over the place.

Ground yourself back by accepting this happened to you.

Yes, the negative thing happened. But that’s all!

Something happened. That does not mean your life will go to crap because of it.

This one bad thing does not affect anything else; it stands alone! It just means one relationship is over.

When you break up with someone it does not mean you won’t find love anymore, doesn’t mean you’ll forever be alone, and does not mean you’ve suddenly become an unlovable person.

That is all.

It means that relationship will not be the same way anymore.

Take the negative moment, single it out, accept it and ground yourself.

The second thing to cope with something bad is to be still.

Take a moment to realize where you are, what else is around and what you still have.

• You are still alive.
• You still have friends.
• You still have a family.
• You’re still human.
• You’re still capable of everything any other human is.
• You can still smile.
• Your brain can still excrete endorphins and make you happy.
• You are still here.

Take the time you need to be still and settle.

The world will still move on and things will still happen. Your life is not over because of one bad thing.

This may take some time. That’s perfectly alright!

Your emotions are in turmoil, not everything is going your way, something bad has happened so take the time you need to accept it and be okay with it.

But, if you want to move past it or out of it, go to step 3 as soon as possible.

The third, and final, thing to cope with something bad that has happened is to create movement again.

‘Action ‘ is the key word here.

Something bad has happened, it is not as big as you think, but it’s still there so deal with it!

Just like you would with a broken leg or an illness, deal with this negative thing.

Take an action to fix it or, even better, to get right into what you want.

The point is that you do something, that you move forward again.

Look at your goals, look at all those amazing things that are still ahead of you and walk towards them.

Act to Progress.

Improve a skill, read a book, go to a seminar, work for a promotion, get a coach or do something that makes you feel like you are moving towards something again.

Progressing and moving forward is the best way to leave the bad thing in your past.

“The great courageous act that we must all do, is to have the courage to step out of our history and past so that we can live our dreams.” — Oprah Winfrey

Sometimes this requires a lot of courage as you need to face the bad thing again and deal with it, but as long as you are moving and notice you’re moving you’ll feel a lot better.

Originally published at http://quora.com.