How to Get Through a Tough Financial Emergency

We're all forced to deal with financial and other emergencies from time to time. It's not fun to think about, and we usually put off planning for it until it's too late. My husband and I recently experienced a family medical emergency and encountered a tough situation. We're both self-employed so this made everything even more financially stressful.

We quickly learned that we were not prepared to weather a financial emergency, but we have since begun taking steps to prepare. Here's how to get through a tough financial time without losing everything, and keeping your sanity and confidence intact.

1. Keep Things in Perspective

When you're going through a tough financial time it's important to stay positive and know that things will get better. Give yourself time to be frustrated, cry, scream, and then remain hopeful that the situation can only improve.

Hope is the motivating force that will keep you in the right mindset, so you can successfully handle this situation. Focus on the positives and view each day as a new chance to make everything better.

2. Surround Yourself With Positive Support

One of the best ways to keep a positive approach to life when you're having a tough time is to surround yourself with a supportive community. When you're struggling, you can reach out to your supporters for guidance and advice. They can also help you keep the situation in perspective, so it doesn't get blown out of proportion.

Make sure your positive group of supporters are people you can trust and who have your back no matter what. Community organizations, religious groups or churches, and other social support mechanisms can also lend a financial hand during difficulties. Map out the community resources you can rely on to help you during lean times.

3. Create an Emergency Backup Plan

The best way to conquer an emergency situation is to have a backup emergency plan in place. In case you don't have one already, now's the perfect time to create it.

What's your process for an emergency situation? Will you rely on savings, take out a loan, or get a second job? Do you understand the exact resources at your disposal? By understanding the options available, you can more readily navigate a financial emergency.

You should set goals because striving to meet a goal makes you happier. This is because a goal gives us structure and purpose, but also once you set a goal, your brain feels like you have already attained that goal. (This explains the euphoria we feel when we decide to “start a diet.”)

1. Our brain thinks we are finished before we start.
We need to be very careful setting goals. Our brain is hard-wired to get very upset when we lose something we already have, so we get upset when we don’t actually reach the goal. And, the bigger the potential for positive growth a goal has, the more anxiety and stress your brain is going to create around its non-achievement.

I have this process from setting yoga goals. Over the past five years I have become anxiety-riddled over the calming effect of yoga.

2. Goals are really about process – the results are ancillary.
To reach a goal you have to separate it into small steps. I did that before I had kids. I had a goal of going to a class. Then going to a specific class. Then paying for private lessons to get good. Then practicing every day.

Then I had kids, and predictably, things went to hell. I tried hiring a babysitter to do yoga (too expensive). I tried bringing my baby to yoga (in NYC the hard-core Ashtanga studios are okay with this. Probably because no parent can handle it for more than a few times.) And I tried doing yoga on my own, at home.