Was 2011 a rough year for you? In my view, this year seemed like a fire-storm of never-ending bad news. War, floods, accidents, divorce, layoffs, foreclosures, disease, death. I personally know someone who was affected by each one of those calamities in 2011. Major, catastrophic, life-changing events. How then, do we put bad things behind us and carry on? I asked people affected by terrible misfortune, and here is their collective, insightful advice:

1. For immediate distraction, get lost in a lengthy book where the characters suffer great loss yet are redeemed in the end.
2. Start writing yourself, from letters to memoirs to fiction.
3. Physically hold another human being or a pet. Medical science has proven that physical contact is necessary for humans to thrive.
4. Don’t isolate yourself – find a group where you feel like you belong. Even if it’s just the morning Starbucks crowd!
5. Find a way to laugh every day. Watch funny movies, buy a book of New Yorker cartoons, or listen to a comedian on tape.
6. View tough times from a “bigger picture” perspective: Life is a journey, and ups and downs are an inevitable part of it.
7. After a loss, also consider what you have gained by the change. There is always a bright side.
8. Get involved with helping others who are even worse off than you.
9. Create! Get your right brain very, very active and it will quiet the left side that is busy staying focused on your problems.
10. Control the next change that occurs in your life. Intentionally do something you have always wanted to do; go somewhere you have always wanted to go; even changing the car that you drive can redirect your sense of being in control rather than becoming a victim of circumstances.

Thanks to the folks who contributed these great ideas for handling any kind of transition with some degree of grace. May 2012 bring better times for all. Wishing you peace, health, and prosperity in the New Year!