Monday, March 31, 2014

How to Have a Craptastic Day

Have you ever had one of those days where absolutely nothing went right? Maybe you showed up to work one day, your boss handed you a box, and told you that your position was eliminated. Or having a gut-wrenching fight with a loved one, leaving both of you feeling angry, helpless, and deeply hurt. Or maybe you had something small happen to you, but just as crappy, like a wardrobe malfunction at work. (I once walked around all day at work with my skirt seam split up the middle and had no idea until the end of the day!)



I have experienced all of these specific examples of crappy moments in my own life, leaving me feeling devastated and disheartened. It really stinks to go through this. When everything goes wrong, it is difficult to imagine things will turn around. But I have survived because I turned all the crap I experienced into something... craptastic!



All of the crappy moments that we have experienced in our life, whether they are big or small, equally make us feel inadequate. It is inevitable that we are going to experience many crappy moments in our lives. We cannot grow and learn without them. But instead of complaining about how awful these experiences are, what if we celebrated them? What if we took all the crappy moments that we had and made them craptastic, by reframing the meaning of our experiences?



It is in those moments of emotional pain that we learn our greatest lessons and from those lessons we grow and expand our capacity as purposeful human beings.



For me, the loss of my job was devastating, but I learned so about myself during this process regarding my life's purpose, along with tapping into my resilience and determination. The experience gave me the opportunity to explore options, examine my values, and tune into who I really was at my core.



My wardrobe malfunction taught me the lesson of self-care, choosing outfits that reflected my perfect style and taking time in the morning with a deliberate routine. Having this routine not only overrode any potential wardrobe malfunctions, but created a space to nurture my femininity with the art of dressing and primping in the morning. These are both lessons that I would have never learned if I hadn't experienced all the crap that preceded them.



It may be a struggle to see the lessons during the painful times, especially in our darkest moments, but they are there, even if it takes us hours, days, months or years for us to find them. We can only grow when we embrace those moments that are unfamiliar and uncomfortable, and we will be tested constantly. By turning our crap into something craptastic, our mind's focus shifts to see another side of the story, to learn a lesson from the challenge, and to ultimately grow from it.



I challenge you to take those crappy moments and make them craptastic. The next time something really crappy happens in your life, take a deep breath in, smile and celebrate, because you are about to learn something!



Melissa E. Kirk is a life coach and teaches people how to master modern mindfulness in today's crazy world. You can catch up with her at www.melissaekirk.com or find her on Facebook for daily inspiration.



from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1moXoWg

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