I Am Discouraged: What now?

I feel like it comes around every few weeks. That moment when all of my effort seems to be nullified by a new piece of information. 

And the thing is, it happens in an instant.

I would like to say that in those moments I respond perfectly without worry or care because I know everything will work out. The truth is, that's the Chris Capehart that I haven't yet become.

So, what should we do in those moments of discouragement? What should we do when it seems that all of the effort we put into that "big" something is for naught? 

Here are the two things I do:

1. Take a deep breath

Literally, take a deep breath. Maybe you need to take 10 or 20, but take a deep breath. Your deep breath may come in the form of a walk, jog or some other from of physical exercise. 

Bottom Line: Get outside the emotion of the moment.

2. Find hope

I recently received some advice when I was struggling with a challenging business situation.  

The advise: "Just think, in some places in the world men will let a child drown when it is in their power to save them just because of ethnicity. You're problems aren't that bad."

I've never found myself in a situation where there wasn't some form of hope to hold onto. Though, at times the only hope I could see was that I have air to breathe, still that is hope and pretty amazing when you start to think about it.

Instead of getting lost in the negative, find a positive to get lost in.

A starting place to correctly dealing with discouragement is bringing perspective into the situation.

Our goal shouldn't be to eliminate discouragement, but to manage and overcome it.