When things go wrong, it’s easy to find yourself falling into a pit of darkness. Even if there isn’t a way to solve your troubles, learning how to look beyond them will help you push on in a positive manner
The current reality of the global pandemic is taking a toll on the human spirit. We are having a harder time keeping our head above water, and it’s showing. Painful posts about loved ones and desperate pleas from people asking for prayers flood our Instagram feed. Where do we go from here?
As I sit and type this, with the conscious mindset that I should be living and breathing joy as a happiness coach and the founder of Getting to Happy, I am acutely aware of the word happiness.
Yet this week, I felt myself sinking, falling deep into a sea of emotions, and almost drowning in it. I know I can kick a little harder and reach the surface, but it feels impossible. The struggle of being far from my family in India, while simultaneously living in the wonderfulness of this red dot makes me feel guilty. How can I be happy here while my family there could potentially be exposed to danger?
A little while ago, I had received approval to send my parents from India to Singapore. In an instant following that, however, the Covid-19 containment measures here have suddenly been changed, and flights from India can no longer land in Singapore. There was nothing I could do about it, which left me feeling helpless.
(Related: How to Be Happy, According to a Life and Happiness Coach in Singapore)
I coach and mentor a lot of young people and during this week of praying and worrying, I met a young girl. A brave, exceptionally smart girl who told me happiness would just mean feeling love from her parents. Her words took my breath away and brought me back to a rational state in an instant.
Sure, I teach happiness, but that doesn’t mean I am happy 24/7. It means I have to look deeper in myself to find the energy to break through the surface during those hard moments of total submersion. And this young, fabulous lady did that for me this week.
If you are going through something similar, there are things you can do to help lift yourself out of your state of distress. Here are five ways to “keep above water”.