What can we do to feel good in a bad world? That’s the question we keep asking ourselves, without really having any satisfying, or at least comforting, answers. So, here are my 5 secrets for surviving the prevailing gloom and finding joy and serenity.

1 – Don’t cling to anger and feelings of injustice

It’s normal to feel anger mixed with a sense of injustice when we learn of atrocities taking place around the world. The problem is that we cling to our anger, and it ends up devouring us.

In fact, we have to understand that it’s normal to feel anger, but we have to let it go. Because we’re not made to live in anger all the time, at the risk of serious health problems. Indeed, if our mind won’t let go, our heart will.

What’s more, we need to understand that we’re not going to make the world a better place by shouting and screaming our anger. All too often, we wait for things to change before we change them. But that’s a mistake. We have to change for things to change.

That’s why my secret to surviving the prevailing gloom is to have understood that I must first appease my anger and sense of injustice, that it’s up to me to take this first step, for myself, but also for the world. Indeed, it’s not my anger that’s going to change the world, it’s my inner peace.

So, whenever I feel anger, frustration or fear about certain news in the world, I work on letting go of all these emotions and feelings, one by one.

2 – Accept imperfections to survive the prevailing gloom

The world isn’t the way you want it to be. I know it isn’t. Nor is it the way I’d like it to be. But we can’t control that. We don’t have to control it either.

In fact, perhaps what hurts us most about the current gloom is that we feel that somehow we should be able to change and control things. And that’s why the state of the world hurts us so much, because we feel completely helpless, while at the same time feeling a little guilty.

So, to survive the prevailing gloom, my secret is to accept imperfections. In fact, I allow myself to be happy in spite of everything. In other words, I don’t wait for the world to be perfect and my life to be perfect before allowing myself to feel happiness and well-being.

To do this, we need to work on our feelings of guilt. In other words, we need to understand that we can’t control everything. What’s more, we need to let go of our need for perfection. Perfection, the perfect world, the perfect life don’t exist. And yet we can all be happy. We have the right to be, and we’re capable of it. So what are you waiting for?

3 – Don’t argue

We tend to argue. All the time. About everything. And we don’t realize that it’s wearing us out more and more every day. What’s more, we don’t realize that it’s wearing the world out too, every day a little bit more. All those negative words, filled with anger, fear and frustration…

It took me a long time to realize that I needed to stop polemicizing. Because I love to polemicize, to talk about things that get on my nerves. In fact, I realized that it gave me the impression that I was moving things forward, when in fact I wasn’t at all. And, what’s worse, it exhausted me enormously and made me more and more bitter and sad.

That’s why I wholeheartedly invite you to stop arguing about current affairs, about all those things that make you so angry. For your own well-being, but also so that you don’t participate in the prevailing gloom. What do you think?

Well, it won’t happen overnight, and sometimes you’ll feel a real need to talk about a particular subject. Trust yourself! But always persevere in your efforts. That’s the secret!

4 – Feeding your joy rather than your negativity to survive the prevailing gloom

So, I know that these first 3 secrets are far from enough to survive the prevailing gloom. So, I’m taking my thinking a step further by reminding myself that I won’t change the world in a gentler, more positive way by clinging to my sense of injustice and therefore vibrating angry, negative vibes. I will change the world, at my level, by vibrating softer, more positive waves/vibes.

That’s why my other secret for surviving the gloom is that instead of focusing on all the things that make me angry, I focus on all the things that make me happy.

Instead of talking about the bad news all the time, we can talk about the good news. And that changes everything, really! So, what are you waiting for to vibrate with sweeter, more positive vibes and thus participate in a sweeter, more positive world?

5 – Persevere

As I said earlier, it’s not going to be easy to stop arguing, accept imperfections and nourish your joy in the midst of all this gloom.

But just because it’s not easy doesn’t make it impossible. In fact, it requires perseverance, but also a great deal of benevolence.

In other words, do your best every day and never stop trying to do your best. I invite you to write down these 5 secrets on a small card or a note on your phone. Reread them as often as possible. Because if you don’t reread them regularly, you’ll forget them and fall back into your bad habits!

Find out more:

I invite you to read these 2 complementary articles:

Discover I’m always on edge: 4 steps to calm down
Discover 100 quotes to let go of your worries

I recommend this inspiring book:

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

The author vividly portrays the challenges of survival during a harsh, unrelenting prairie winter. The story reflects the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity, offering lessons in endurance, resourcefulness and finding moments of joy even in the darkest of times. Through the experiences of the Ingalls family, the book reminds us that, despite hardship, strength lies in perseverance and the ability not only to survive, but also to find pockets of warmth and hope in the midst of gloom.

There are many lessons to be learned here. I love this book so much that I read it every winter! It’s the perfect book to snuggle up by a fire and read when it’s snowing outside.

Thank you very much for reading this article.

If you liked it, let me know in the comments.

Take care of yourself