How to Handle Negative Situations

Figure out how to react., Don't keep your emotions bottled up., Look at it like an obstacle that you need to overcome., Admit your mistakes., Stay positive!, Learn to laugh at yourself., Step back from the situation and decide if there is a...

12 Steps 4 min read Advanced

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Step 1: Figure out how to react.

    Before doing anything, give yourself a moment to calm down.

    When you're in a negative situation, you can get stressed out very easily and do the wrong thing.

    Take a moment, take a few deep breaths, relax, and think clearly.

    If you respond when you're still emotional, chances are you'll only make things worse.

    Once you've collected yourself, your emotions, and your thoughts, you'll be able to deal with the situation much better.

    Life will always present you with bad situations, but it's up to you how you're going to react to them.
  2. Step 2: Don't keep your emotions bottled up.

    In order for you to move on from this negative situation, you'll need to be able to let go.

    It's very hard to do this when you keep your emotions bottled up inside of you.

    Talk to someone about it; a friend, family member, etc.

    Vent about your feelings in a journal or blog, or even a loose leaf paper that you shred afterwards.

    Cry, scream, or punch a pillow if you need to.

    Doing this will release the tension inside of you and help you start to move on. , Life will throw many obstacles at you, and there's no use crumpling at the sight of them.

    If you work hard, you can overcome those obstacles and move on with your life. , Sometimes something you've done has gotten you in a negative situation.

    If this is so, instead of keeping everything cooped up inside of you, admit that you've made a mistake.

    Apologize and move on. , The best way to deal with negative situations is to stay positive! It's not as easy as it sounds, but it can be done.

    Don't allow yourself to become jaded by something bad that's happened.

    Stay positive, don't jump to conclusions, and keep an open mind.

    Eliminate negative thoughts; dwelling on the bad won't make a difference.

    Every cloud has a silver lining, so find a bit of positivity in every bad situation. , Don't be so serious! Have a sense of humor and learn to laugh at yourself and your situation.

    Embarrassing moments happen, and there's nothing you can do, so why not just laugh about it? Laughter is the best medicine, after all. , Not all bad situations are permanently bad.

    Instead of focusing on the problem, focus on the solution.

    Did you lose your job? You can respond by becoming despondent and give up, draw unemployment compensation, and spend your savings or, Look at options like improving your skills by attending school or other training opportunities , Know that you always have a choice.

    Even though you can't control what happens to you, you can always control how it affects you.

    For example, you can't control the person who is bullying you, but you can control the way you feel about it.

    Realize that the bully is wrong about you and that you shouldn't listen to what they say, or take it to heart.

    Let's say that your sibling is making fun of you.

    You have a choice of what to do in this situation:
    Think positively, and take their comments as incentive to change and improve yourself.

    Fight back, and deepen the rift or even cause lasting ill will. , When someone says something negative, look into their message and see if there's something helpful in there.

    If someone insulted your hairstyle, why not try getting a new one? This is a great opportunity for change, and you might find that you love your new style even more than your old one.

    If the message is 100% negative, just ignore it. , Instead of getting angry, sad, or upset, learn from what has happened.

    Was it something inside of your control? How can you learn from your mistake and avoid repeating it later in life? Was it something out of your control? You shouldn't be so upset if there was nothing you could have done to stop the negative thing from happening.

    Que sera, sera, after all.

    Instead of viewing this situation as a horrible thing, think about it as a learning opportunity. , Nobody can please everyone.

    Instead of focusing on making other people happy, focus on making yourself happy.

    This will improve your life vastly.

    Don't waste your time around negative people that you're always trying to impress.

    Spend time with positive people who love you and accept you for who you are. , Listen to a motivational speaker or program.

    Find quotes that inspire you and place them in places that you go to often to help keep you happy throughout the day.
  3. Step 3: Look at it like an obstacle that you need to overcome.

  4. Step 4: Admit your mistakes.

  5. Step 5: Stay positive!

  6. Step 6: Learn to laugh at yourself.

  7. Step 7: Step back from the situation and decide if there is a possibility of a good outcome.

  8. Step 8: Choose not to be affected by it.

  9. Step 9: Take something negative and use it to improve yourself.

  10. Step 10: Learn from it.

  11. Step 11: Don't try to please everyone.

  12. Step 12: Keep yourself motivated.

Detailed Guide

Before doing anything, give yourself a moment to calm down.

When you're in a negative situation, you can get stressed out very easily and do the wrong thing.

Take a moment, take a few deep breaths, relax, and think clearly.

If you respond when you're still emotional, chances are you'll only make things worse.

Once you've collected yourself, your emotions, and your thoughts, you'll be able to deal with the situation much better.

Life will always present you with bad situations, but it's up to you how you're going to react to them.

In order for you to move on from this negative situation, you'll need to be able to let go.

It's very hard to do this when you keep your emotions bottled up inside of you.

Talk to someone about it; a friend, family member, etc.

Vent about your feelings in a journal or blog, or even a loose leaf paper that you shred afterwards.

Cry, scream, or punch a pillow if you need to.

Doing this will release the tension inside of you and help you start to move on. , Life will throw many obstacles at you, and there's no use crumpling at the sight of them.

If you work hard, you can overcome those obstacles and move on with your life. , Sometimes something you've done has gotten you in a negative situation.

If this is so, instead of keeping everything cooped up inside of you, admit that you've made a mistake.

Apologize and move on. , The best way to deal with negative situations is to stay positive! It's not as easy as it sounds, but it can be done.

Don't allow yourself to become jaded by something bad that's happened.

Stay positive, don't jump to conclusions, and keep an open mind.

Eliminate negative thoughts; dwelling on the bad won't make a difference.

Every cloud has a silver lining, so find a bit of positivity in every bad situation. , Don't be so serious! Have a sense of humor and learn to laugh at yourself and your situation.

Embarrassing moments happen, and there's nothing you can do, so why not just laugh about it? Laughter is the best medicine, after all. , Not all bad situations are permanently bad.

Instead of focusing on the problem, focus on the solution.

Did you lose your job? You can respond by becoming despondent and give up, draw unemployment compensation, and spend your savings or, Look at options like improving your skills by attending school or other training opportunities , Know that you always have a choice.

Even though you can't control what happens to you, you can always control how it affects you.

For example, you can't control the person who is bullying you, but you can control the way you feel about it.

Realize that the bully is wrong about you and that you shouldn't listen to what they say, or take it to heart.

Let's say that your sibling is making fun of you.

You have a choice of what to do in this situation:
Think positively, and take their comments as incentive to change and improve yourself.

Fight back, and deepen the rift or even cause lasting ill will. , When someone says something negative, look into their message and see if there's something helpful in there.

If someone insulted your hairstyle, why not try getting a new one? This is a great opportunity for change, and you might find that you love your new style even more than your old one.

If the message is 100% negative, just ignore it. , Instead of getting angry, sad, or upset, learn from what has happened.

Was it something inside of your control? How can you learn from your mistake and avoid repeating it later in life? Was it something out of your control? You shouldn't be so upset if there was nothing you could have done to stop the negative thing from happening.

Que sera, sera, after all.

Instead of viewing this situation as a horrible thing, think about it as a learning opportunity. , Nobody can please everyone.

Instead of focusing on making other people happy, focus on making yourself happy.

This will improve your life vastly.

Don't waste your time around negative people that you're always trying to impress.

Spend time with positive people who love you and accept you for who you are. , Listen to a motivational speaker or program.

Find quotes that inspire you and place them in places that you go to often to help keep you happy throughout the day.

About the Author

A

Amber Young

With a background in lifestyle and practical guides, Amber Young brings 4 years of hands-on experience to every article. Amber believes in making complex topics accessible to everyone.

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