09/11/2025
Surviving a Difficult Situation
By Dina Ellens, adapted
Those first few minutes while the news sank in were devastating. I felt like my whole world was caving in. Somehow, I managed to stumble shakily out of my boss’s office. His words kept reverberating in my head: “Due to the current situation, we’re having to cut back. So we wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind accepting a cutback on your work hours for now.”
Perhaps you’ve faced that kind of situation, too. Whether you had full-time employment to support a family or, as in my case, a part-time job that was helping to supplement my income, either way, it’s difficult news to swallow. What do you do? How do you pick up the pieces and go on?
Here’s what worked in my case.
1. Reminding myself constantly to stay positive.
There was nothing I could do about my boss’s decision, but I could decide how I was going to react to it. Each time I was tempted to start getting discouraged or depressed, I would yank myself back to positive ground. It wasn’t easy, but I forced myself to keep at it.
2. Having sincere friends who listened sympathetically, heard me out, and supported me.
Having those friends helped me appreciate the fact that I had someone to go to in times like
this. Some walls and distance had grown up between us due to my being so busy. These all came down as I humbled myself and showed myself emotionally needy. As a result, we got closer through this experience.
3. Taking things one day at a time.
Instead of trying to figure out the whole future and where I was going from here, I tried setting one or two goals to accomplish each day. As I took care of those, I felt encouraged, knowing that I was taking care of some “to-dos” that I’d put off for a long time.
4. Counting my blessings more often and learning to see more clearly all the many ways that I was blessed.
Even very little things I’d taken for granted lifted my heart and lightened my step. Day by day, as I put these tips into practice, things got better. Even though my circumstances didn’t change, I cultivated a better outlook on my situation because of being more positive and grateful. During the hours of work I still had, I continued to do the best I could, putting my whole heart into it, and I even got to do some things I’d never done before.
After about a month, I was given my full hours at work again. As you can imagine, I was very happy and relieved. But although my situation changed for the better, the tips I just shared are staying with me. If my circumstances change again—and I’m sure they will—I now have something solid to fall back on for those dark hours when my world seems to cave in.
