How to Bounce Back From Hard Times With Grit and Grace

I’ve learned that in life, and in business, there will always be obstacles that stand in our way. From mistakes to hardships, it’s easy to let things get us down or make us feel like giving up.

When we look in from the outside — or through the lens of social media — it’s easy to assume that other people have it easy compared to you. You might ask yourself: Why aren’t my friends struggling like I am? Whether you want to admit it or not, there’s even a part of you that’s really, really jealous.

But life is rarely as perfect as social media portrays, or people let on. At some point, everyone faces adversity; adversity is part of everyone’s life. It’s how you bounce back from these hard times, however, that really defines you as a person and will ultimately determine your happiness. One thing I’ve learned is that it’s always our biggest stumbles that lead to our biggest lessons. For every mistake or misstep you make, there’s a golden opportunity waiting on the other side.

We can’t control the unfortunate things that inevitably pop up in our lives, but we can control how we react to them. In this week’s Do It Scared podcast, I share three mindset shifts that can help you turn your breakdowns into breakthroughs, and help you look at negative experiences as positives ones.

Ruth Soukup is a New York Times bestselling author and the founder of Living Well Spending Less. You can listen to her sage advice on life, career and parenting on episodes on her new podcast, Do It Scared, above.