10 Things To Do When Life Throws You A Curveball

When life throws you a curveball, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by it all. Just when you think you have it all figured out and that you’re finally making huge improvements in your life, suddenly out of nowhere, life throws you this big challenge that leaves you feeling so lost, confused, and defeated.

I certainly know how frustrating that can be. When I was digging myself out of rock bottom and just when I was starting to see positive changes in my life, just when I was starting to believe that life was finally going according to my plan, suddenly I was smacked with this curveball that pushed me right back to where I started.

During these moments it is easy to start believing that things will never get better. It’s easy to start believing that regardless of how hard you try to change and improve your life for the better, you will always be doomed to fail and that things will always fall apart for you.

This is exactly what I felt and if you’re currently going through the same thing, please know that this is certainly not the end. Yes, things may be hard right now and I know how defeated you feel but please remember that you can turn this around.

When life throws you a curveball, remember that you have the power within you to catch those curveballs and throw them back with great determination. You have the power within you to turn those curveballs into stepping stones toward success and happiness.

In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the steps I took that helped me navigate life’s twists and turns and come out of the other side stronger. I’m hoping that these steps will help you navigate those curveballs with resilience and bravery!

What To Do When Life Throws You A Curveball

1. Take A Deep Breath

I know how overwhelming it can be when we are hit with sudden challenges and adversities. Sometimes it even gets to a point where we become so paralyzed by the feeling of being overwhelmed that even getting out of bed becomes almost impossible.

I’m no stranger to this feeling. When I was faced with one problem after another, every day felt like I was drowning, constantly grasping for air.

If you’re currently feeling this way, please allow yourself the time to slow down and take a deep breath. This simple yet powerful step can have such a huge impact in helping us navigate the twists and turns of life.

When life throws you a curveball, your mind usually has the tendency to race ahead and worry about the future, allowing yourself the time to take a deep breath, gives you the opportunity to anchor yourself in the present moment, take a step back and regain clarity and focus.

When the challenges of life become too much, give yourself the space needed to slow down and take a deep breath. This simple act can just be the thing that you need to navigate this season with courage and inner peace.

2. Focus On What You Can Control

Most of us are guilty of spending so much time and effort trying to control every little aspect of our lives. I’m definitely one of these people. I have always had this bad habit of wanting to control every little detail in my life.

I used to believe that as long as I was doing this then I was actually preventing everything from going wrong and I was making sure that everything would go according to my plan. But life doesn’t really work that way.

And curveballs, or sudden challenges and problems are one proof of that. Regardless of how hard we try to plan for every outcome and control every aspect of our lives, it still won’t guarantee that nothing will go wrong.

Because the reality is, there are so many things that are just out of our control. When faced with a curveball, we are often met with a feeling of defeat and helplessness, and fixating on the aspects of life that are out of our control will only make us feel worse.

It will only magnify the defeat and helplessness that we already feel making it even more difficult for us to navigate this season. It will only cause so much more stress and disappointment.

The best thing that we can do when life throws us off course, is to focus our energy on the things that we can control and accept the things that we can’t. Doing this will make things less overwhelming and will make it easier for us to take action.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help

I have always found it difficult to reach out and ask for help regardless of how exhausted and drained I already felt. When I was struggling in life, I would always rather just pretend that everything was okay than let other people know what I was really going through.

I have always had this notion that since this is my life, my problem then I should be the one to fix it. And to be perfectly honest, I have always been so afraid to open up to other people believing that I would be burdening them with my problems.

But I was certainly wrong to believe that. One thing that I learned when I hit rock bottom, is that regardless of what you think, you will never become a burden to those people who truly love you. They actually want to be there for you. They want to listen.

So, when the curveballs get too much please don’t hesitate to ask for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness or a testament to your abilities. I actually believe that asking for help is a sign of strength and courage.

Know that there are just some things in life that are too much for us to handle alone. We all need someone in our corner to help us navigate the difficult seasons of life.

4. Accept Your Emotions And Allow Yourself To Feel Them

When life throws us off course, it’s easy to undermine our feelings and think that the best way to go is to just suppress what we feel and keep pretending that we are okay.

I used to be guilty of this and if I’m being honest, sometimes I still am. I have always found vulnerability difficult. Every time I would go through something my first reaction was to always run away from what I was truly feeling.

I believed that if I just kept all my emotions bottled up then sooner or later they would eventually fade. But that doesn’t work that way. When our life takes an unexpected turn, ignoring what we are feeling is not going to make things easier for us. It’s certainly not going to make what we are truly feeling disappear.

Instead, all those suppressed emotions will slowly accumulate, making life even more difficult for you. Those suppressed emotions will only weigh us down and it will only keep us from truly healing and moving forward.

What you are going through now is certainly not easy, when life gets hard, one of the best things that we can do for ourselves is to give ourselves a safe space to accept our emotions and feel them without any judgment.

I know that processing our emotions is not always easy, most of the time it is difficult and painful, but please know that is only when we face our emotions head-on that we finally allow ourselves to learn from the experience, heal, and ultimately move forward.

Please remember that vulnerability will never be a sign of weakness. I actually believe that allowing ourselves to be vulnerable requires great strength and courage. Doing this will free us from that emotional burden that we have been carrying for so long.

Here’s a great post that’ll help you learn how to feel your feelings from Declutter The Mind.

5. Set Realistic Goals

When life throws you a curveball, setting realistic goals can become such an invaluable compass, guiding you through this difficult time and helping you regain clarity over your direction.

Setting realistic goals is all about acknowledging your current reality, identifying what you want to achieve, and breaking it down into manageable steps. I know that when we go through challenges, we all want to do as much as we can to make huge improvements.

Sometimes, we push ourselves to take these huge leaps and do everything all at once. Our goal here is to keep ourselves motivated and if we try to do everything all at once and we fail to do that, it will only cause us more disappointment and frustration.

That’s why it’s so important to be realistic with your goals and the time frame that you provide for each of them. There’s nothing wrong with breaking down big tasks into small manageable ones. Creating small and achievable milestones will help keep us focused, determined, and motivated to keep going.

Also, another important aspect in helping you achieve your goals while navigating this difficult season is by staying open and flexible to any adjustments necessary. Remember that life is unpredictable, your circumstances may change. So, please don’t hesitate to adjust your goals when necessary.

6. Prioritize Your Well Being

I know that when we have so many things on our plate, prioritizing our well being is certainly the last thing on our minds. And if we are truly being honest, sometimes we are not even thinking of it.

I mean, we already have so much going on, taking the time to take care of our needs is certainly not on top of our to-do list. I know how you feel.

When I was navigating the lowest point of my life, I thought that the only way for me to turn my life around was to focus all my attention and energy on taking the necessary steps needed to improve my life. I pushed myself to exhaustion and burnout and I completely ignored all my needs without realizing that doing this was greatly negatively impacting my mental health.

One of the most powerful things and kindest things that you can do for yourself, especially when life throws you off course, is by practicing self care and prioritizing your well being.

Prioritizing your well being is not just a luxury or something that we just pay attention to when everything in our lives is working out. Prioritizing our well being is a necessity. It is survival.

We can’t continue to push ourselves and ignore our needs without expecting any consequences. Taking care of our needs and doing things that give us peace and nourish our soul not only provides us with the inner strength needed to face life’s curveballs, it also helps us tackle challenges better.

Remember a well-nourished mind is certainly better equipped to make decisions and find solutions. Please always remember that your needs matter. You deserve to treat yourself with the same amount of love and kindness that you so freely give to others.

7. Take It One Day At A Time

When we are smacked with sudden problems and obstacles, it’s easy for our minds to race and fixate on all the what-ifs of the future. When I was going through the same thing, I allowed myself to ruminate on all the uncertainties of the future and try to come up with a plan for every possible scenario.

Honestly, during that time, I really thought that it was the best thing to do. But it actually was the complete opposite. Doing that did not help me in any way. It actually made things even worse. Constantly focusing on the future magnified my worries and anxiety to the point that I was too overwhelmed to even find solutions for my problems.

That’s why taking it one day at a time is crucial when life gets hard or when life throws a curveball. Taking each day as it comes does not only make things less overwhelming but it also allows us to focus all our attention and energy on the things that we can do in the present moment instead of fixating on all the uncertainties of the future that are beyond our grasp.

8. Remember That Setbacks Are Temporary

When I was navigating one of the most difficult seasons in my life, every day felt like I was constantly being hit with one disappointment after another. One failure after another.

When you’re constantly faced with so much frustration and failure, it’s easy to lose hope and start believing that things will never get better. I believed that too. I thought that regardless of what I do, I would never be able to turn things around.

And this dark season is going to be my forever. But that’s definitely not the case. If you feel the same way, please know that what you’re going through now is just temporary. Change is constant and is inevitable.

The setbacks and challenges that you are facing now are all temporary. Regardless of how defeated and drained you already feel, please keep going. There is hope and you have the power and strength within you to overcome this and turn your life around for the better.

Your today is not going to be your forever. Just keep pushing and you will make it through.

9. Embrace Change

Another important step to take when life throws you a curveball is embracing change. I know how difficult that can be. I was never been good with change. Frankly, sometimes now, I still hate it.

Change for me comes with so many uncertainties and uncertainties make me anxious and stressed. That’s why I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I’ve chosen to stay still, and the number of opportunities I’ve missed just because I was too afraid to embrace change.

It didn’t matter how unhappy and unfulfilled I was. I still chose to stay stuck because doing that feels so much easier than opening myself up to change.

But the thing is, sometimes regardless of how hard we try to avoid change, life will still hit us with unexpected problems and curveballs that will easily challenge our sense of stability and control. If we continue to fear change or run away from it, it will only make it more difficult for us to bounce back when faced with these setbacks.

Change is constant and if we don’t embrace it, then we are missing out on the opportunity to grow, learn, and experience life. Remember that life is fleeting and it’s far too precious to waste it staying still just because we are too afraid of change.

Curveballs are proof that life is inherently uncertain. By allowing ourselves to embrace change, we are helping ourselves become more comfortable with uncertainties and adaptable to whatever life throws our way. It makes us more resilient and it helps us discover the strength within us that’ll help us weather any storm.

10. Believe In Your Ability To Overcome Challenges

While I was digging myself out of rock bottom, I honestly thought that I was finally making a headway in improving my life. Then suddenly life hit me with this unexpected problem and honestly it felt like for every step that I was taking forward, I was also taking three steps back.

And this really made me feel like a total failure. It made me start doubting myself and if I even have what it takes to turn my life around in the first place. Seeing myself as a failure and doubting my abilities only made it even more difficult for me to make any form of progress. Honestly, it just made me feel hopeless.

One thing that I’ve learned from navigating that moment of my life is that the setbacks, the challenges, or the detours that we face should never be taken as a testament to our abilities and worth.

We all go through difficult seasons and face sudden setbacks. That doesn’t mean that we are not good enough or that we are not strong enough to overcome adversities. Think about all the other moments when you said to yourself you will never be able to make it through, only to prove yourself wrong and actually end up overcoming it.

Don’t let the curveballs of life make you forget your invaluable strength and your ability to weather whatever comes your way. Believe in yourself and in your ability to overcome difficulties.

You have done this before and you will certainly do this again.

Final Thoughts

In life, curveballs and unexpected problems are inevitable. When life throws you a curveball, please don’t take it as a sign of defeat or failure. Instead, look at it as an opportunity for growth and a stepping stone toward achieving your goals and creating the life that you love.

As you navigate this journey, please offer yourself patience and compassion. What you are going through now is certainly not easy, don’t beat yourself up or put yourself down. Be kind to yourself and know that you have the power within you to overcome every curveball life throws at you and come out of the other side stronger and wiser.

Ultimately, navigating difficult seasons is your personal journey. Don’t hesitate to only take the steps that you think are right for you and identify other strategies that works best for you.

Before I end this post, please allow me to leave you with this. I know that you may feel so exhausted and defeated right now, but please know that there is hope. You can go through this. You will go through this. You are strong. You are capable. You are worthy.

You will overcome this setback. Please know that I’m constantly rooting for you!