It’s hard. We are walking around, in line at Starbucks, driving to school and we are dealing with stress. We go home and sometimes feel all alone and feel like no one understands me or that my life would be easier if I were someone else…

Depression, loneliness, pressure, & change push us to thoughts we don’t want. Retraining the mind to choose love over fear and find inner peace is easier said than done.

Walls that block love come up and happiness becomes a distant glimmer in a dark world. We become a slave to time and we wake up each new day reliving our past. Coping skills start with forgiving yourself and allowing for freedom to live in the present.

For me, when I deal with stress, I cope with it in three forms: physically, mentally, & spiritually. Stress bottles up in our body and we first must get it out physically. I play a lot of basketball to let out frustration. Basketball is my outlet. It’s a time when I can’t think about anything other than offense, defense, the ball, & my teammates. In addition, daily I enter the sauna & steam room at my local gym to detox & purify my body.

Mentally, basketball offers me an opportunity to clear my mind from thinking about the current hardship but prayer & meditation extract the negative energy out. It’s funny, I’ve become aware that if we think it and say it, it normally comes true. When we believe things will get better and envision happiness in the present it happens. We are what we eat & we are what we think.

Spiritually is how it all comes together for me. Going to church is a simple act that has got me through some of my darkest times. It’s a time for me to focus and center. I look at my past week and recognize my faults. I ask for forgiveness of what I’ve done & failed to do. I think positively about a better week to come and pray for guidance to surround me like an angel as I move forward.

Coping skills start with understand what I’m dealing with and then releasing built up negativity. Finally, moving forward takes discipline. Self-discipline to see the world differently and act positively. Here is something to tangibly try this week to cope with hardship: workout your body for an hour each day, workout your mind to read a few articles each day of Chicken Soup for the Soul, and say out loud to yourself in the mirror before your day starts positive statements you wish to see happen in your life today. The power of intention is a powerful thing, try it today and feel what happens.