Finding strength during difficult times

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) -When we are in the midst of hard struggles, we often ask, “When will things get better?” or “Will things ever change?”

Rumaisa Khawaja (Coach Ru) has been through some dark times recently where she felt lonely and hopeless. After beating cancer, she shares some perspectives on what she learned due to the toll cancer alone can take on mental health.

She has truly learned that we need these lows to appreciate life’s highs. And she relies on 12 practical things to incorporate into daily life that can help anyone shift out of helplessness and onto hopefulness.

These 12 things include: .

1. Creating light in the space around me. This includes: Making my bed, opening the shades, folding laundry, adding flowers and spraying refreshing light sprays to fill the air.

2. Accepting the change and looking back as to how far you have come. How much you have grown from these challenges.

3. Relationships — letting go of the quantity and leaning into quality.

4. Letting go of the “how” or the “outcome,” and finding ways to feel good today.

5. Allowing myself to have my sad moments, learning to be more compassionate with myself and showing up for myself again and again.

6. Decluttering my social media. (It’s a game changer!)

7. Binge-watching my favorite show. Sometimes it’s nice to get lost in your favorite show. (Just be mindful to what kind of show that it is! This can definitely steer you in how you may be feeling!)

8. Putting more of an effort into my appearance. Dressing up, doing my hair and makeup.

9. Opening up to new conversations with others. I reached out to my daughters’ friends’ moms to schedule mommy/daughter playdates.

10. Writing — journaling every day for a minimum of 10 minutes. I didn’t know what I was going to write. I just allowed the pen to write whatever came to mind without editing. I also make a point to write down all of the things that are going right in my life, shifting my attention to all of the good all around me.

11. Speaking to a therapist. Sometimes I had no idea what I was going to talk about, yet there were so many revelations that opened up for me.

12. Doing less, and being more. I started making time for myself again. Allowing time and space for me to organically let new thoughts reveal themselves to me.

For more information or to contact Coach Ru, visit this page for all her social media and website links.

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