How to Move Ahead When “Everything Sucks”

Can I get a slate, slate? Can we get a slate, slate? Can I get a whoop whoop?

Smack down? Take one.

Hey, it's Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and life you love. And this is Q&A Tuesday. And today's question, it comes from a girl named Alicia and she writes, "Hey Marie, a struggle I keep coming up against is what do you do when every option in front of you totally sucks? You're weighing multiple options, but each and every one has some major downsides. So rather than choosing and acting on an option, you find yourself staying stuck in an action and beating yourself up for not moving forward. How do you suggest someone makes decisions when each and every option you see sucks some major-?"

Alicia, great question. At some point in life, most of us have found ourselves in a situation where we're upset and we're frustrated and we look around and everything just seems to be crap. I'm sure everyone in the audience can relate, but, and this is a big but, which I like. This question is the perfect reminder for us all to give ourselves a spiritual smack down.

The truth is this. In any given moment, you can choose to see what's right about a situation or what's wrong about a situation. And either way, you're going to find evidence to support what you're looking for. When you're in a negative state of mind and you believe that every option sucks, it's nearly impossible to find your strength and your clarity and move ahead. Here's the deal, Alicia, and yes, it's a tweetable.

Not having the best situation, but seeing the best in your situation is the key to happiness. Now I'm not sure what your sucky situations are, but I am absolutely certain that you can find something right about them and create a positive result. Every day you hear about people who've made the most of arguably crappy situations. And the common thread throughout all of them is their positive attitude.

Now here's the thing. A positive attitude is a choice. And if you make that choice enough, it becomes a habit. One woman that comes to mind is Somaly Mam, the Cambodian author and activist. At 12 years old, she was sold into sex slavery. Then every day she was tortured and she was raped. And one night she was forced to watch as her best friend was murdered in front of her. Now, if that's not a crappy situation, I don't know what it is. Now, Somaly escaped and she's made it her life's mission to end sex trafficking and to empower survivors.

Or how about this? Do a Google search for famous amputees. And you're going to find an enormous list of extraordinary people who have accomplished incredible things either because of, or in spite of, losing their limps. The bottom line is this, looking for what's right in a situation completely transforms your state of mind, your ability to make decisions and move ahead. And the best part is it's a habit you can build.

Like Maya Angelou says, "If you don't like something, change it. And if you can't change it, change your attitude." Speaking of change, if you've been listening to me this whole time and saying, "Marie, yeah, yeah, but you don't get it. You don't know how crappy my situations are", here's the deal. There is nothing more crappy than the option you're choosing right now, which is beating yourself up and doing nothing to move ahead.

Action is magic. And either option you choose is going to be a huge improvement over this tortured state of inertia that you find yourself in right now. Alicia, that was my A to your Q. Thank you so much for asking. Now, I want to hear from you. Have you ever had a crappy situation that you turned around because you changed your attitude? Or have you ever found yourself with two kind of crappy options, but you chose one, you moved ahead and you discovered, hey, things aren't so bad?

In the comments below, I want to hear your story. Now, remember the best stuff happens after the episode, over at MarieForleo.com. Go there and leave a comment now. Did you like this video? If so, subscribe to our channel and share the MarieTV love with your friends. And if you want even more great resources to have a business and a life that you love, get your butt over to MarieForleo.com and make sure you sign up for email updates. Why? Because I'm going to send you goodies in email that I just can't put in videos. That's why. Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams. The world needs that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching and I'll catch you next time on MarieTV.

Crappy.

Crappy.

Crappy.

Yo, we're on Q&A Tuesday. Yo, I need English lessons.