Digging Deep When It Matters

Digging Deep When It Matters the Most

Sooner or later, it happens to everyone. You find yourself at a crossroads. You’re at a point where you either act now to get things done, or you might as well give up. To some, this is the breaking point, the place where dreams come to die. To others, this is their shining moment, their chance to be the hero in their own story. Digging deep when it matters most is a worthy goal.

If you were asked which you would rather be, the answer would likely be self-evident. We all want to be the hero. It’s why we’re drawn to movies and television series such as Babylon 5 or Star Wars or The Avengers. Watching the struggle of someone trying to stand up to impossible odds speaks to us, and inspires us to do more, to be better than we are right now.

The hero’s path isn’t an easy one, though. The struggles of life are hard, and sometimes we have to dig deep, really deep, to get where we want to go.

So how does one get there? At what point do you realize you’re destined for great things? How do you know when it’s time to give your all?

There are certain types of people that are able to find a different level when the pressure is on. These fantastic individuals thrive in circumstances that would crush just about anyone else. Put their backs are against the wall or throw them into the middle of a crisis, and they’ve got it handled. They have grit. They have resolve. They not only stay calm, they almost relish the moment.

Sound heroic and somewhat impossible for anyone but a few select individuals? What if I told you we can all harness a little bit of this in our daily lives? You can, in fact, learn how to dig deep and accomplish great things when the pressure is on.

Here, we’re going to explore the worst of times. From there, you’ll see how to get through those times by following a straightforward six-step system designed to help you find your resolve. This is an exciting program, and much easier than you would expect.

Ready to learn where your best work comes from? Then let’s get started!

The Worst of Times – Digging Deep When It Matters Most

Life can be pretty hard sometimes, on so many levels. Every day we face new crises, coupled with a healthy dose of stress and worry. It seems that no sooner do we get one problem solved than there’s something else creeping in to take its place. What’s worse, every last one of these issues seems to require every ounce of your resources just to get through them.

It sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? Let’s examine how ten certain events often cause the “worst of times” for us. What we mean is these events challenge us in multiple ways. With so much pressure, it’s no wonder we need to dig deep to overcome.

For our purposes here, we would like to look at the following events:

• Hopes / Dreams are Dashed
• Tough Deadlines
• Medical Emergencies
• Change in Career
• Financial Trouble
• Natural Disaster
• Falling Out with Family
• Relationship Ending
• Making the Wrong Choice
• Societal Issues

Let’s examine each of these in a little more detail so you will have a starting point to begin digging deep when it matters.

Hopes/Dreams are Dashed

There isn’t a person in the world who hasn’t thought wistfully of something they really hoped would happen in their lifetime. We start building our hopes and dreams from the time we’re small enough to play pretend and wish for things like ponies or new bicycles. As we grow up, our fantasies grow with us, sometimes becoming quite incredible. These are the things which make our hearts beat a little faster, just thinking about them. Hopes and dreams are what we envision at night and strive for during the daylight hours.

To lose your hopes or dreams can be absolutely crushing. Because we put so much time and energy into imagining them, when these die, part of us dies with it. It’s not unusual to experience great grief and loss in the wake of this loss, with all the prerequisite steps required to work through them. Some people never fully recover this loss, becoming so caught up in the realm of “what should have been” that they forget to live the life they have right now. On the less extreme end of things, you can expect at the very least depression, a certain amount of anxiety, and a lot of regrets to step into your life when you lose these things.

Tough Deadlines: Digging Deep When It Matters

Deadlines don’t just have to do with work. We experience them from the time we’re kids in school and are given our first assignment into adulthood, where everything seems to have an expected time of completion attached. We tend to pay attention to the ones our bosses assign us, mostly because there’s a paycheck attached to the completion of those projects, but any deadline can become bothersome if the stakes are high enough.

What we don’t realize is the psychological effect of deadlines. You already knew about the stress, but were you aware of the cost of this stress? Not getting things done until the last minute can kill off brain cells as well as creativity. Literally. Our bodies naturally produce an excess of cortisol when we experience high levels of stress. Surplus cortisol kills brain cells.

It seems like a pretty high price to pay for letting things go, doesn’t it? Keep in mind this is in addition to all the other aspects of feeling the pressure, which concentrates highly on stress, which has a lot of adverse effects on your health you might not realize, including high blood pressure, insomnia, and even heart disease.

Medical Emergencies

There are a lot of things that qualify under the heading of medical emergencies. This can mean anything from the effects of being in a sudden car accident to finding out you’ve been diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.

The problems with these medical emergencies lie in the suddenness of them. They come on you without a lot of warning, so you wind up living in uncertainty for a time, while the situation is figured out. From there comes in a whole host of intense emotions, including everything from worry and fear to impatience, frustration, and in the worst cases, deep intense sorrow and possibly depression.

Change in Job or Career

You wouldn’t think a change in job or career would be considered the worst of times, given most people see a career change as a steppingstone to better and more positive things. Of course, this might still apply here eventually after the dust settles. What we’re focusing on in this book are the unexpected career changes that come from being laid off or fired.

The effects of career change hit on every level. The first is in your finances obviously, but there’s a lot of other influences which have to be considered. Emotionally this can really do a number on a person, especially if you’re unprepared. You might suffer in self-image, especially if the reason for the termination has anything to do with your job performance. There’s also a lot of pain and uncertainty over what you’re going to do next. Add to that a desperate, even obsessive need to find a new job, and it’s no wonder you’re a wreck.

Financial Trouble

This topic might play a part in the last one we talked about, for losing your job well definitely have a negative impact on your finances. At the same time, there’s a lot of ways you can shift into a financial crisis, so this needs to be discussed on its own. Someone might get a sudden illness without insurance, or a fender bender can wind up costing you a small fortune as you struggle to fix a car you really need for the sake of getting to work. Sometimes, financial trouble comes entirely from outside of your control, when the economy shifts and the cost of living rises but income doesn’t.

It’s not unusual for money troubles to hit you straight into a panic. This triggers your old friend, fight, or flight, which in turn dumps a whole lot of adrenaline into your body before you’ve even started framing the questions which will lead you out of this mess. We panic because we’re being hit in the wallet, which our brain tells us we need to survive. Anytime survival is threatened, we have this response. The problem is adrenaline is hard on the body, and the accompanying stress can be long-lasting, especially as it takes time to sort out the money issues. This could lead to some rather long-term effects over time, which include a kind of PTSD where you never feel comfortable about money again if the disaster was big enough.

Natural Disaster

Earthquakes, wildfire, tornado, hurricane…all these and more fall under the heading of a natural disaster. Most of these hit with little to no warning, so frequently, there’s nothing you can do to save yourself from destruction. Best case scenario? You did some prep work beforehand, so the effects weren’t as harmful as they could have been. Worst case? You might have lost everything, including someone you love.

A natural disaster leaves a heavy emotion in its wake. Now try adding anger, sorrow, fear, and everything else to the effects of losing possessions, pets, and worse, people we love very much. You really can feel very helpless in the wake of a disaster, and PTSD isn’t uncommon. Worse, if you’d been injured physically in the catastrophe, you might never be the same health-wise ever again.

Falling Out with Family

Every family has its little fights and squabbles. What this heading refers to are those big family disasters where people start choosing sides, and lines are drawn, keeping family members from even seeing each other for sometimes years at a time.

The problem with family members is they really know how to push your buttons. They ought to – they’re the ones who installed them. Family history gets us wrapped up very emotionally with our family members. To wind up fractures and separate from each other seems almost unnatural, and it shows in the effects when it happens. There’s a lot of emotions involved in a family argument. Anger is only one small part of it. There can be a lot of betrayal, fury, sadness, and grief involved in this kind of fallout. Worse, this is one of those places where you can have some serious mental health issues develop. Doubt it? Then ask why so many therapists working with patients focus on the patient’s relationship with their parents and how they were treated growing up as a standard part of therapy.

Relationship Ending

This one should go without saying. Whether you’ve divorced your spouse or simply broken up with your significant other, the effects are very much the same.

The effects of a breakup might surprise you, though. Studies have shown some interesting results when they studied the brains of those who had recently broken up. They found those who had recently ended a relationship were having physical withdrawal symptoms, much like what someone who uses recreational drugs would experience when coming down off their ‘high.’ Even more disturbing, a breakup triggers the pain centers in your brain. You really do feel the pain of breakup physically. This is the time to begin digging deep when it matters most.

Making the Wrong Choice

You can’t be right every single time; it would be impossible. So wrong choices are simply a normal part of life. Sometimes, though, these bad decisions can have more far-reaching consequences than you expect. Wrong choices can include anything from marrying the wrong person to picking the wrong career or moving into a neighborhood that turns out to be unpleasant or dangerous.

The consequences can be vast. Emotionally you hit in all areas from sorrow and depression to anger and frustration. But these consequences can be so severe as to be life-threatening. Choosing a spouse who turns out to be abusive can endanger your life, as can selecting a place to live, which might be downright unsafe.

Societal Issues and Politics

The world itself can be to blame for the ‘worst of times’ quite quickly. Political unrest, riots, pandemics, poverty are just the beginning of a list, which includes any kind of headline you might read in the newspaper. The variety here is endless. This is where digging deep when it matters is crucial.

Anyone of these can force isolation bringing with it a slew of problems ranging everywhere from depression and discomfort to PTSD, the development of phobias, and the exacerbation of mental health issues. This doesn’t even begin to take into account the possible physical ramifications of societal problems, which again could make you more susceptible to injury or death.

When outlined like this, unexpected, and sometimes tragic events seem disturbing and depressing. The thing to keep in mind is what all of them have in common: none of these are easy to solve without a lot of hard work, determination, and good old-fashioned grit. You have to tackle every last one of these with intense resolve when it matters most. This leads us to the next section…

Digging Deep When It Matters Most for What We Truly Want

We dig deep when we’re going for something we want. This is no casual desire. It’s an all-consuming craving for more in your life than you have right now, a need to hold something just out of reach or to go somewhere you’ve never been. It’s the culmination of a desire for greatness, to accomplish something only you can do.

This deadline has ramifications stretching far beyond this moment. It might even be seen as something so big and grand it strikes awe in the hearts of those around you. At others, the goal is more immediate, and the outcome more personal, such as meeting a deadline to guarantee the paycheck that will put food on your table.

Both are incredibly important. The point is, your reason for digging deep has to matter to you. That means your goal is not likely to look like anyone else’s. And that’s okay.

But knowing your reason for digging deep is only half the battle. You still need to summon the energy to get things done. How do you prepare yourself to give your all, especially if you might already be tired and flagging a little as you come into the final stretch? Try these simple tips:

Digging Deep When It Matters Most

Open Up
How much are you stuck in doing things a certain way? Sometimes when we’re feeling like we’re not making progress, it’s because we think progress looks very much like one specific thing. When you let go and open yourself to the idea things might move differently than you originally planned, you start to see things happen. Here’s where it becomes possible to truly dig deep and get things done.

Be Authentic
How much of your procrastination is due to your thoughts and opinions of what you’re doing? If you don’t believe in what you’re doing, if you think you should be doing something else or are wasting your time, you’re going to drag your feet, whether you realize it or not. You have to address what is making you reluctant to continue. You will only be able to get on with your project if you deal with your emotions honestly.

Trust Your Gut
Have you ever had a feeling you were on the wrong path? Or better yet, you were on the right one? When you allow yourself to react instinctively, you tend to be more accurate than you might expect. But how does this apply to digging deep? Simply put, finding those energy reserves can be hard sometimes, especially if you’re faltering in what you’re doing and thinking. You can’t make progress when you doubt, nor can you expect to move toward success if you’re trying to force yourself down the wrong path.

Become Fearless
Planning and practicing are one thing, but doing the actual work is something else entirely. If you’ve stalled because you’re dithering over whether you have all the facts or if you’re ready, you’re never going to move to get things done. You need to take the plunge and just get going. It can require courage and a sense that things are going to be okay, even if you do fail. How do you pull this off? By reminding yourself that failures can teach you valuable lessons. Besides, what if things go right?

Question Your Thoughts
What is your self-talk at this moment? If you need to dig deep and you’re telling yourself you can’t, you’re killing your chances of success before you even begin. You tend to become what you tell yourself you are. Here’s why it’s so important to remind yourself of your past successes alongside the reminder of just how capable and likely you are to meet success head-on.

Learn How to Smile
Anytime pessimism takes root, it can become impossible to move forward. If you need to dig deep, you likely don’t have time to wait around for your mood to change. Force the issue by smiling. Why? Because scientific studies have proven smiling by itself, even when it’s not genuine at the start, it will always end up being genuine. Digging deep when it matters is worth your efforts. The very act of smiling changes our mood to one where it’s natural to smile.

Gather a Tribe or Community
You wouldn’t think it matters so much who is around you, especially when it comes to getting things done. After all, your first instinct is to shut all doors and shoo people away when you have work to do, right? In this case, though, your peeps are crucial to your success. When you’re up against a hard deadline, you need support, people to hold you accountable, and to cheer you on when things are rough. You need a team to help pull you through the rough patches. Of course, the important thing about the people you choose for this job is they must be 100% supportive of you. You don’t need anyone negative, who doubts, or is going to pull you down. Think of these folks as well informed cheerleaders, who can also give you a reality check when you need it, but in a way which isn’t going to grind you to a halt.

Imagine Your Adversary
This one works well with people who love gaming or have a more competitive mindset. Deadlines are an abstract thing. They’re not physical enemies, so it’s hard to think of them as something to fight. This technique might seem a little out there, but if you start picturing whatever you’re trying to accomplish as a foe to be defeated, it’s easier to dig in and fight to get things done.

Get Moving on the Hard Stuff
Take a stance of jumping in and attacking the project immediately, the sooner, the better. The more you procrastinate, the bigger the task grows in your head, and the harder it is to get started again. Deadlines can already seem hard, especially now, when you need to dig in so much. Don’t make it worse by building things up in your mind.

Put Off the Tempting Stuff
If there is anything to procrastinate, it’s this. Want to pause for a snack, a walk around the block, a favorite TV show? Nope, nope, nope, and nope. This isn’t the time for any of those. Tell yourself you can have all of those things in a little bit and then dangle them out in front of you like a reward. The longer you can dangle them, the better. You’ll find yourself digging in naturally just to get to them. Hey, whatever helps, right?

Consider the Outcome
Try visualizing yourself already done. Instead of focusing on the deadline itself, picture in your mind the project completed and yourself already there. How does it look? How does it feel? What emotions does this picture bring up? Now backtrack a little. See yourself doing the work which brings you to this point. Visualization is sort of like having a dress rehearsal in your mind. Oddly enough (and studies have backed this up) visualization does make it easier to accomplish your goals. You form new neural pathways in your brain when you visualize, as though you’re already doing the action. So when you sit down to work, there are no blockages in your mind. Your brain already knows what to do.

Ask Yourself: What Does the World See?
Get a hold on your perspective. In the end, maybe you see all of this project as something impossible, and yourself as something you’re not. Have you been beating yourself down for putting things off, or for floundering with your deadline? It might surprise you to know your friends and family are impressed with your dedication, your ambition, and what you’ve accomplished so far. Take a step back and see the wonderful person you already are. Yep, this is you: the winner who has this whole thing entirely under control. Now with this image firmly in your mind, get back to work and see how easy it is to start digging deep when it matters and get things done.

So, how did it go? Are you still feeling a little more as though you have a handle on things?

Life is hard. What you’ve done here today just in reading this book shows you have grit and determination already. You’re not one to just lie down and concede defeat when the going gets tough. No, you’re here, and that’s a beautiful thing.

As you go forward in implementing the strategies of this book, you need to remember a couple of key points:

First, change isn’t going to happen overnight. You’re dealing with some significant issues, and it’s going to take time to dig in and get a handle on them. The key here is persistence and a whole lot of repetition. If you’ve genuinely found your resolve, you’re going to make it, even if you have a stumbling start, falter along the way, or also need to start over at some point. Your persistence, your grit, and your perseverance are going to be what makes a difference.

And the other point? You’re already a hero just for striving to find your resolve get ahead and digging deep when it matters most. Go you! Now get out there and conquer your world.

All those tough things will never stand a chance once you get going. It’ll be a fantastic thing to see!

The main thing to remember when digging deep is to use this skill sparingly. Life shouldn’t be about pushing to the max over every little thing. You use this when you need it, end of story. Otherwise, you’re not digging deep so much as you’re creating a new way of life, which looks a lot like the old, only with more pressure.

When you do need it, though, use it. Digging deep when it matters most will get you where you want to go. Think of it as a fine strategy on the road to heroic success.

“Do for a year what others won’t; live, forever the way others can’t.” ~ Connie Ragen Green

I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green. My goal is to help at least a thousand people to reach six-figures and beyond with an online business. Come along with me, if you will and let us discover how we may further connect to achieve all of your dreams and goals. Perhaps my “Monthly Mentoring Program” is right for you.