Recently, it’s been several things at once going wrong. Frequently used items have suddenly broken, sources of income have disappeared, and I’m questioning exactly what I’m doing. When we have those moments in which everything seems to be going wrong all at the same time, it’s easy to throw our hands up and admit defeat. On the other hand, we can also choose a different reaction because our attitude in a trying time has a lot to do with how we handle the situation.
When I recently found out an income stream was disappearing, I wasn’t surprised. I knew it had a temporary shelf-life, and I had been preparing myself by asking for information ahead of time. It was still a little painful, but it wasn’t a shock. I realized I would just need to work harder to bring in income other ways. Planning is key, and I began to consider how to make up for the loss of income. I’m still working on it, but I recognize that keeping a positive attitude about it will be important. As freelancers, private contractors, small business owners, or part-timers, we already know the tension of wondering if we can make as much income from one month to the next. That tension never completely goes away because we know there is always a chance something will go wrong. It’s a different kind of stress than people working in a full-time job experience.
When we rely on electronic items for our income, it is stressful when they quit working. Suddenly, equipment we use frequently isn’t operating as it should, and then our schedule gets off track. We may not even realize how much we rely upon a particular item until it doesn’t work anymore. We can replace the items, but we realize replacing the items means using money we would rather not spend right now. Now let’s add this stress on top of the previous stress, and suddenly, we are asking ourselves questions we really don’t have time to answer.
What are we doing here? Does what we do matter? Are we really making any progress or difference with what we do? Should we just go back to the old 9-5 and become someone else’s work zombie again? We begin to doubt ourselves.
Yes, it’s easy to find ourselves discouraged, frustrated, and ready to give up when everything seems to pile up on us at once. On the other hand, I’ve been a work zombie for someone else, and I’m just not willing to give up the freedom I have gained not working for others all the time. Right now, I have the freedom to decide how I handle any situation. I have the freedom to find any kind of work I want. I’m choosing to look at this differently than I would have in the past. I already know what I’m doing – writing. I already know when I make a difference because of how others respond to what I write. I’m definitely making progress because I’m a long way beyond where I used to be. No, I don’t want to go back to the 9-5 grind working for someone else, and the truth is I just don’t have time to doubt myself. I’m asking myself a new set of questions instead.
How do I make this work better? How do I fix this situation? How long can I live without something I thought was a necessity? What are my necessities versus wants? What are new things I can do for income? How do I fit them into my schedule? What is my new plan?
When things happen all at once, we may need a moment to feel the frustration, discouragement, and doubt, but we need to remember that we don’t need to live there. We need to feel it, process it, and move on to healthier emotions. We don’t need to live in stress, but we could try to find a way to use stress as motivation. How do we use what goes wrong as a way to move forward? If we ask ourselves this now, we already have answers when it happens all at once.
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Inspirational Verses for the Day:
The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18, CSB)
All Things Subject to Change 