12 Ways to Learn to Roll with the Punches

Gaye Levy, Contributing Writer
Activist Post

The past four or five years have been difficult on many fronts. The lousy economy and the wonky weather patterns have put most people on edge. And not just a temporary edge, but an edge that seems to get steeper over time with no end in sight.

In this type of environment, it is easy to become stressed, frustrated and immune to taking steps to affect change. Instead, many go about their day, fearful of rocking the boat and too fearful to even think about the consequences of a major crisis or natural disaster. And even though you have stockpiled food and water and have learned survival skills such as fire building, sheltering and emergency medicine, when push comes to shove, there is still an underlying fear that things will be bad – so bad – that we will not make it through.

There is an idiom that is commonly used to describe one’s ability to deal with difficult and stressful situations. It is called “Rolling with the Punches” and it means accepting whatever happens, dealing with it and moving on in a healthy and productive manner. It means having the skills to deal with difficult situations, no matter what.

Learning to roll with the punches is a survival skill that can be honed and polished, ready to serve you when faced with the distress of a tough life situation. Today I would like to share 12 tips for rolling with the punches – 12 tips for learning how to cope and endure when the SHTF and your world falls apart.

1. Be Decisive. Face it: most problems will not disappear by themselves so you might as well take action and get something done to solve the issue at hand. Make decisions and act. You may not always make the very best decision, but you will be doing something; and it is that something that really matters.

2. Establish good ties and social connections within your community. Establish close ties with friends and family, stressing quality rather than quantity. Having these relationships will provide you with positive enforcement not only when times are good, but also when times are bad.

3. Have goals. Even in difficult times, goals are important. They don’t have to be big goals and, as a matter of fact, smaller, more manageable goals are far more attainable. Say, for example, you want to begin a preparedness program. Identify small tasks and complete them one by one, month by month, task by task. (See 12 Months of Prepping, One Month at a Time.)

4. Turn difficult situations into avenues for personal growth. Learn from each challenge. If you have a problem that seems difficult to solve, let your innate curiosity take over and educate yourself. Become stronger through education, secure in the knowledge that no matter what your age, you are still learning and growing.

5. Trust your instincts and remember that you are capable of doing great things. Instincts are developed from a lifetime of experience. It does not matter is you are 20 or if you are 80. You still have life experiences upon which to draw some conclusions and to help you make the right decision. Trust yourself to make the very best decision you can, and remember that you have the ability to prevail, no matter what.

6. Maintain your optimism. You can’t change what has happened in the past, so accept the past and begin to look forward to the future. Anticipate what is coming with a sense of challenge, even if the only challenge is to get through the day with food in your belly and love in your heart.

7. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Get out a pad of paper and make two columns; one for strengths and the other for weaknesses. You don’t necessarily have to change, but from this list you can learn to understand and appreciate those circumstances where you will excel as well as those where you may fall short. Use this knowledge as a tool for building your confidence and your self-esteem.

8. Don’t forget that time will heal. It is natural to feel overwhelmed and stressed during a crisis situation. But remember, time really does heal. Take baby steps toward overcoming the bad situation, and congratulate yourself each time you meet with even the smallest modicum of success. Remind yourself that a month, a year, a decade from now, things will be different.

9. Appreciate and accept change. It is trite to say that change is good, because sometimes it is not. But whether the change is good or not, it is a part of life and is often something that we cannot control. The best way to cope with unwanted change is to accept it and adjust your plans accordingly.

10. Stay fit and healthy. Take care of yourself. Eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of water and get some exercise each and every day. And, most importantly, take some time for yourself so that you can enjoy simple pleasures such as a good book, some delightful music and the company of good friends.

11. Be proactive. Do something meaningful each and every day. By doing something worthwhile each and every day, you will have a sense of purpose. Just remember to make this an individual thing, Meaningful should be defined wholly in your own terms and not those of someone else.

12. Ask your self “what is the worst than can happen?” Dale Carnegie said: “First ask yourself: What is the worst that can happen? Then prepare to accept it. Then proceed to improve on the worst.” To this day, that remains sound advice.

The Final Word

Increasing your ability to quickly recover from a crisis or a disaster may mean the difference between getting through life’s challenges with gusto and gumption instead of muddling through the day with fear and distress. Just remember that success can come from the smallest of accomplishments. The baby steps that seem inconsequential while doing them have the ability to add up and become something much greater than the individual components.

I hope that you will take a good look at these twelve tips and practice at least two or three so that you can build up your resilience and ability to cope no matter how tough the situation in your life and our world might get. For at the end of the day, it your ability to recover quickly that may hold the key to your long term survival in these uncertain times.

Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!

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Gaye Levy, the SurvivalWoman, grew up and attended school in the Greater Seattle area. After spending many years as an executive in the software industry, she started a specialized accounting practice offering contract CFO work to emerging high tech and service industries. She has now abandoned city life and moved to a serenely beautiful rural area on an island in NW Washington State. She lives and teaches the principles of a sustainable, self-reliant and stylish lifestyle through emergency preparation and disaster planning through her website at BackdoorSurvival.com. SurvivalWoman speaks her mind and delivers her message with optimism and grace, regardless of mayhem swirling around us. Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!