“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Sounds like great advice, right? But what does it really mean? I think Roosevelt was trying to tell us a couple things.

First, when it feels like everything’s going wrong, don’t give up. Giving up never made anything right. It’s only when you hang on and keep on fighting for what you want that you’ll get there. That’s the ‘hang on’ part.

And second, ‘the knot’ is really important too. Roosevelt is suggesting that you find one thing that you can specifically hold onto. Whether it’s an accomplishment or a task you have complete control of. Something that you can grab with both hands and feel like you’ve made progress… maybe just stopped falling!

If it’s a stressful situation that’s making you feel out of control and at your wit’s end, look for something that you can fix or find some hope in, even if it’s just a tiny thing.

If it’s your business, or even your blog, work on one thing at a time. To Do lists are great, until they get so massive that they become daunting and overwhelming. Try breaking that list up into more actionable and achievable chunks! That’s something I talked about specifically in this podcast on creating a virtual event plan, and how I use a project management system.

That’s been the case for me these past two weeks, both personally and with work. I’ve had to re-focus more than once on smaller tasks that I know I can handle and conquer, and avoid the oppressing overwhelm flowing out of everything else going on.

So tie that knot and hang on!