To those who felt grief in 2016 – Please read this

Well, winter is here in all of its glory, and for me it’s a time to reflect on 2016. I usually make resolutions for the future, however, I want to do things a bit different. I want to learn how to better embrace grief or unexpected change, with style and dignity.

Understand that grief is a process.

We’re not taught how to lose, but instead we learn to focus on how to win and acquire more. So, when hard times come, it can be devastating. In 2017, let’s become season ticket holders together and learn to ride the curves that come our way.

Here’s what I want to practice.

• Understanding grief as a ’process’ – I need to be gentle on myself and embrace the unexpected moments of deep sadness as being normal.
• The only conscious positive ‘choice’ I have, is to walk each day seeing the positive options. If I’m feeling down, I need to get together with a friend, watch something funny (Seinfeld helps) and go for a walk. It’s hard to be sad when you’re doing something happy.
• Talk about grief and death with others. This enables me to keep from getting stuck and normalize the loss as a human experience. It helps me stay committed to leaning in a positive direction and to cope with hard and painful changes in my life.
• I can’t run away from grief. I need to see the lessons I can learn. I’ve found that joining a group that provides camaraderie has made me stronger. In many ways, it has given me a sense of purpose in moving foreword. SideStix is part of my story going forward.
• Learn to live courageously by embracing “the meaning in hard”. This isn`t easy and takes work, but it helps me be less scared of changes, and more brave as I practice what I preach.
• Sharing my loss with others, can build resilience and I learn more of who I am and what I’m capable of being through the eyes of empathy.

Find Support

There are many individuals who will learn about loss in their lives, and in return they will help others to do the same. Here are a few groups (I find inspirational) that provide support to individuals as they learn to cope with loss and pain.

www.learntocope.com , www.deathcafe.com , www.madd.org, www.christopherreeve.org

“I lay on my back, frozen, unable to avoid thinking the darkest thoughts. Then, at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent. He announced that he was my proctologist and that he had to examine me immediately. For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.” – Christopher Reeve on how Robin Williams gave him hope following his spinal cord injury.

Grief and Defying Convention

I like to think that SideStix is an organization that helps others learn to cope with grief. Our company provides support to over 1200 individuals all over the globe who want to ‘Defy Convention’. These individuals are leaning into the difficult, the hard, and saying YES to their new normal.

SideStix users are reclaiming the simple joys of living fully and pushing themselves to take on personal challenges. I especially love interviewing users who want to be an ‘Ambassador of the Month’. Their published stories provide the testimony and camaraderie that is needed for others to learn how to lean into the hard.

Happy New Year. May your personal journey for 2017 be a positive journey of learning how to be good at riding the curves. What’s your ‘meaning of hard’? Want to share your personal experiences with SideStix and inspire others? We would love to hear from you.

Follow Sarah Doherty and the Team
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Subscribe to our newsletter
for exclusive SideStix articles and updates

Recent Posts