When Three Steps Back Aren't Enough

Sometimes one step just isn't enough. Neither is step two or three.

Do you ever have those days where nothing is going right and all your faults seem to be front and center? Those days where closing your eyes, taking a deep breath, and counting to 10 just won't do the trick? Yeah, those days are the worst.

Sometimes it is hard to see the silver lining. It is hard to find the positive, and that's okay. No one can be Positive Polly one hundred percent of the time. What's important is the takeaway from the day. If you end the day taking a step (or two or three) back and saying, "Tomorrow will be better," you can start the next day off with a clean slate. Even if tomorrow isn't the best day, it will most likely be better because you were able to back up and remind yourself that you can go into tomorrow with a clean slate.

Being in a good mood after a really bad day is hard. Going to bed upset is usually a lot easier than trying to will your mind to drop your anxieties and to focus on not thinking about what all has happened over the course of the last 24 hours.

The more we are able to realize tomorrow is new and can bring a lot of good, the more likely we are to see the next 24 in a more positive light. Sometimes, a new perspective is all you need. So, if you take a step back and say, "Tomorrow will be a good day," but those anxieties still eat at you, try taking another step back and finding things you can do to intentionally make tomorrow better. This can be reading a few Bible verses and maybe writing them to stick around the house as a reminder to be positive or even just jotting down something positive on your to-do list so it's the first thing you see, but sometimes, even these little mantras aren't enough. That's when sometimes, a third step is needed. I've noticed, however, the best perspective comes, not from taking another step, but from taking a knee. When you can't see the good no matter how many steps back you take, that usually means we aren't taking the right "steps". The most productive step we can take when we are struggling is to step back, find the root of our anxieties, kneel down, and pray.