As speakers, we can sometimes get overwhelmed with all that we have to do. If we’ve agreed to give a speech, there is the research, preparation and practice that we need to get done. All of these things can start to build up and before we know it, we find that we simply have too much to do. The challenge that we are facing is that despite how much we have on our plate, we still need to find ways to remain gracious to those around us.
We all have those days where things don’t go as planned, but it all depends on how you handle them.
Things could be going extremely well and then one tiny thing could completely change your entire day for the worst. It’s something that you didn’t plan for but something that you now have to deal with.
Do you know how to be gracious in bad situations? Being a kind and pleasant person when things go wrong is the best way to get through a difficult situation.
It will help you and everyone around you to make it through the rest of the day.
Keep reading for our guide on how to be gracious in difficult situations.
Take Everything Into Consideration
One of the best things to do when trying to make the best of a bad situation is to take everything into consideration. Think about the feelings of others, your own feelings, and figure out the best way to fix the situation as quickly as possible.
Taking everything into consideration means that you can anticipate the needs of others in a difficult situation. It is the best way to put their feelings at ease and move on when situations get tough.
On the other hand, if you’re going through something on your own, then make sure to focus on your own needs in a tough situation. What do you need at the time of a bad situation? Thinking of your feelings and emotions will help you be more gracious in bad situations.
Determine How Large of a Problem It Is
Sometimes a small problem can feel like a huge disaster in the heat of the moment. When small problems feel monstrous, then we tend to blow them way out of proportion and overreact.
A good way to figure out how to get over things quickly is to take a step back and figure out how large of a problem you’re really facing. Bad situations like losing your job, your house, or getting into a car accident can seem like huge problems at first but they’re all problems that can be solved.
In fact, bad situations like these might even turn out to be great life-changing situations. You could find a better job which is higher paying and is one that you love. You could also buy a new car or find a new housing situation.
When going through a tough situation, the best thing to do is to take a step back and ask yourself how large the problem you’re really facing is? The best way to be gracious is to tell yourself that it is only a minor problem that can be solved.
Check out this guide from AM Law Group about what not to do after a car accident.
Accept Your Situation
As we just mentioned, bad situations can be solved. There are always ways to move on from difficult situations and one way to do it quickly is by accepting the hand that you were dealt with.
If you can accept a bad situation immediately, then it will be much easier to move on quicker. There are a few stages that you might need to go through when a bad situation occurs and getting right through acceptance will help you move on faster.
Much like the stages of grief, you might also feel anger, pain, denial, bargaining, and maybe even a little bit of depression from a bad situation. Acceptance is a hard stage to get to in some situations so the sooner you can do it, then the sooner you can come to terms with your bad situation.
Even if you have accepted your difficult situation you might still feel some of these other emotions. The thing is that when you accept your situation, then you can still handle it graciously which is exactly what you want to do.
Find a “Life Lesson”
When you’re asking yourself how do you handle difficult situations you might not yet have a clear answer. Handling each tough situation graciously is going to take time and practice. You might find that the first difficult situation you come across you will handle better but it won’t be perfect.
The best thing to do is to take your bad situations and learn a life lesson from each of them. Each situation that you go through can teach you something about how to be more gracious during the next.
For example, if your difficult situation is deciding on how to respond to a disrespectful person, then you have a few options. First, try to empathize with the person. Learn how they respond to empathy if that doesn’t work, then the next time you need to know what to say to someone who is being rude you can just try being polite.
All in all, your life lesson can be that you need to be patient with people even when they’re disrespectful or rude. They might be going through something else in their day but that doesn’t mean you need to be rude to them.
Grow From Bad Situations
Change can be difficult for some people which is why tough situations are hard to handle. For some of us, we feel like we’re on a path that we don’t want to divert from and a difficult situation comes up which can completely mess that path up.
When being gracious in difficult situations you need to know that you can grow from them. Not all situations are going to be bad forever which is what you must realize if you want to be gracious.
Just because we don’t like change doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t happen. You might be happy doing things a certain way but you could also be happy doing things another way. There is more than one way to get things done and sometimes bad situations will turn into good ones.
How to be Gracious in Difficult Situations
Learning how to be gracious in difficult situations is going to take time and practice. Bad situations can come at you quickly and you need to think consciously before you respond to them.
Try your best to be kind and pleasant to everyone you talk with even when you’re going through something tough. It’s the best way for you to get through the situation and for everyone else to as well!