Overcoming Daily Struggles : My 3 Biggest Struggles and How I Approach Them

I know I’m not the only person with struggles, but that doesn’t mean I can’t work hard to be better with those things.

The only way to overcome issues that stand in the way of your productivity is to face them head on, which you can’t do if you don’t have enough motivation. 

With social media being the way it is, it seems like everyone else is doing so much better than us. It’s like they never have an off day, never have anything come up, and always have the energy and motivation to succeed. For some people this is true, but the reality is that most people on social media are only letting you see certain aspects of their lives. Most people don’t want to share their struggles with an audience of hundreds or sometimes thousands of people, so they don’t. Instead, all we’re left with are highlights of the best parts of other people’s lives that make us feel inadequate with the things we still find ourselves struggling with. But I think that it’s really important to talk about these things, the real experiences we all have, and I decided to go first. 

There are a few things I struggle with on a daily basis that I’m not afraid to share. I work hard to overcome these things and in order to do that you have to first be willing to acknowledge that you are struggling, then work towards being better. I’ve found that I have to constantly be aware of the things that lead me to be unproductive otherwise its way too easy for me to fall into bad habits. You’ve got to be vigilant in order to avoid a lot of these things, and by sharing my struggles with you hopefully it can inspire you to think about the areas where you find yourself falling short in your own life. 

1. Sticking to My Diet Everyday

Diets aren’t always easy, but maintaining a healthy diet is important. For me, the consistency is great for my routine which keeps me in a productive mindset, plus it gives my body everything it needs to stay strong and let me keep doing the things I love. I slip up once in awhile but I don’t let it prevent me from immediately going back to my diet. I work with food everyday. Constantly making delicious arrangements and meals for other people, walking around the kitchens can be a very tempting experience. Cookies, brownies, everything you could be craving is always within reach, but I’ve got to be able to control myself if I want to stick to what works for me. I know I’m not alone in this struggle, but talking about it can help you to be more aware and prevent you from acting on those impulses in the moment. My advice for anyone struggling with this is if you mess up, don’t let it deter you. Let it motivate you to be better and keep you from settling into bad habits. 

2. Getting Enough Sleep 

A lot of people struggle with getting the right amount of sleep. If you find yourself waking up in the morning with headaches, feeling groggy, and easily irritated, odds are you’re not getting the sleep you need. My issue is that I love my time in the mornings. My mornings are dedicated to me, mentally and physically. I take that time to ground myself and focus on how I will spend each day and what I’m going to get out of everything ahead of me. I also take that time to take care of my health by exercising. It’s not that I have much trouble getting up early, in fact I’ve talked about how much I love my early mornings before, what I struggle with is getting to bed  on time the night before. I’ll admit, I do bank sleep on the weekends and let myself sleep in later than during the week, but even that doesn’t make up for the sleep I’ve lost if I’m not sticking to my routine throughout the week. I have to be strong and comfortable saying no to things that will keep me up later than I need to be. I have to be willing to put down whatever I’m occupied with so I can get to bed at a reasonable time and make sure I’m getting the rest I need. This is definitely a challenge with self-control, and most people struggle with issues like this. You’ve got to take accountability for your mistakes and work to be better and control your actions more in the future. Just like with the diet, let those slip-ups motivate you into being more conscious of these things later on.

3. Social Media Rabbit Hole 

I am definitely not immune to being sucked into the social media rabbit hole and spending way more time and energy there. There’s really no benefit to this, it wastes time and warps your perception of reality when you could be living and working and enjoying your life. It’s okay to enjoy social media for what it is, but you have to learn how to stop it from consuming you. I try not to be a ‘scroller’ who just scrolls all day every day because it can be so overwhelming. Especially with one of my favorites, Pinterest. I always catch myself going from one project to another being inspired and motivated over and over, that’s not really how our brain is supposed to work and it can lead to pretty intense burn-out. It’s okay to get ideas and motivation for things, but you should also be focusing your intentions on actually doing the things, too. Setting timers and restrictions on phones can be a good way to prevent over-consuming social media if you’re struggling. Find other things to occupy your mind and keep you from getting bored and turning to mindless scrolling for relief, you’ll feel much better in the long run. 

It sucks, but you just have to put it down 

Whatever you are struggling with, be aware of what’s keeping you from being more productive and overall happier. Being aware helps you to put up the proper defenses you need to overcome those obstacles. Take note of how much time you spend doing what on a daily basis and determine if there are better ways you could be spending that time. It’s not easy, but everyone struggles with these things, including me. What sets some people apart from others is being willing to work and overcome these things.  

I would love to answer any questions you may have.

You can email me at thomas@thomascox.co or send us a message through a contact form.

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