How To Handle Hard Times

Author

Jack Salmon
May 06, 2026

Welcome to this weeks newsletter - How To Handle Hard Times 

How To Handle Hard Times 

I've been through my fair share of hard times 

I've been trapped in cycles of drink and drugs 

Been in cycles of debt and financial struggles 

Stages of self sabotage and binge eating 

Mentally exhausting myself because of OCD 

And pushing myself to burnout multiple times because of not feeling good enough

Most recently I went through what would have been deemed a hard and challenging time in the past.

This first quarter of the year I had my worst 3 months in business all whilst investing which put me behind -£43k.

Alongside this I was injured, ill multiple times and mentally exhausted most of the time due to other circumstances I am now aware of. 

But with all this external pressure and challenges - I still stuck to my non negotiables each day of getting up on time, training, mediating and internally I felt at peace and fulfilled. 

In the past as mentioned this would have rocked me to the core but this time was different and the reason I was able to navigate this tough time and stay mentally strong through this adversity is because of these 5 things.


Being the observer

Fear, worry, stress and anxiety are all problems created by the mind.

Instead of associating myself with my thoughts and believing them. I become an observer of them rather than attaching myself to them.

This can be a hard concept to grasp if you are unfamiliar with it but let me explain.

The observer is the part of you which is aware of your thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Psychologists call this metacognition — an awareness of your thought processes and an understanding of the patterns behind them. The word meta means beyond or on top of. 

Spiritually it is known as your higher or true self. But both point to the same thing — the part of you which detaches from the mind and watches your thoughts, feelings and behaviours without being them.

When you become the observer of your thoughts you simply watch them rather than identifying with them.

For example — when my mind says "you have only signed two clients, you are losing money, you are going into debt, you will not be able to support your family" — instead of letting these thoughts consume me I simply observe them and choose to consciously think how I want to think.

I know these thoughts come from limiting beliefs conditioned into me from childhood. And instead of letting them control me, I remain in control.

This means no matter how difficult things look on the outside, it does not affect me on the inside.

This is how I navigated the hardest three months of my recent life without it breaking me.

Not by pretending everything was fine. 

Not by forcing positivity but by watching the fear, the worry and the doubt without becoming them.

That is the power of the observer.

How can you apply this to your life?

Next time a negative thought shows up, pause and ask yourself:

"Am I this thought or am I the one watching it?" 

The loss power you give these thoughts - the less they arise 

Having a Vision 

Having a strong vision has been key 

I know exactly what I want in life and where I am heading 

I have already seen everything achieved in my dreams 

I've seen the success of my app 

Me public speaking on the biggest stages 

Me being an author 

The financial success 

The freedom 

And being the number one personal development teacher in the world 

I have no doubt in my mind, these things will become a reality. 

Knowing these things to be true, anytime I am facing a challenging and difficult time - I just remind myself that this is part of the process. 

And instead of focusing on what my circumstances look like now - I focus on the end rather than the means to get there 

This past 3 months alone I had to invest another 25k in my app and branding, money I had to borrow but why I didn't think twice about doing so, is because I have so much confidence in the success of these things one day.

When you want great things in life, the journey won't be easy but if you have a strong vision and you hold it at the forefront of your mind regardless of the outside circumstances - you will achieve anything you want.

If you're unsure of your own vision and lack clarity on what you want in life, give this framework ago its the exact method i use to understand my own vision in life - 

A Strong Why 

I believe the reason many people give up when they are faced with adversity is because they lack a strong why 

When times are hard 

When my backs against the wall 

And I've doubted everything 

I have always reminded myself the reason I must keep going.

I have many reason why I push on

I want to serve my old self because I know what it feels like to suffer and trapped in self sabotaging cycles 

I want to to give my family the best life possible so they don't go without 

And I want to make myself proud because I spent years not feeling proud of myself.

Having these as a reminder everyday is what keeps me accountable and ensures I never quit. 

When you don't have any real reason - it's easy to give up because you question everything and dealing with the hardship doesn't seem worth it.

By having a strong why, it forces you to tap into something deeper inside and is the fuel that pushes you to carry on.

If you're going through a challenging time right now - have a think about why quitting is not an option and why you must keep fighting.

Growth mindset 

I love this quote - when you change the way you look at something, that you're looking at changes.

Wayne Dyer said this and it is nothing but the truth. Whenever I am faced with a challenging time in life, I look at it as a perfect opportunity to learn,grow and develop into a greater version of myself.

Why?

Because ifI look back at my life - I have learnt more from the challenging times in my life than i have my success and i am grateful that all these times happen for me 

The destructive cycles of drink and drugs - pushed me to go sober 

The self sabotaging and binge eating - helped me improve the relationship with myself and food 

The multiple spells of debt and final struggles - allows me to overcome limited and lackful beliefs and improve my relationship with money 

Burning myself out - helped me improve the relationship with myself 

And the Obsessive and ocd issues forced me to understand the way the mind works and helped me navigate my life better 

I would not off been able to be the man i am today, if i wasn't faced with these challenge but the issue is it's only in hindsight we usually see that these were great things 

Instead of waiting to get through the hard time - I now change my perspective when I'm going though it and look at anything i am faced with as an opportunity to get better 

Have a look back at your own life and see how the hardest times in your life, turned into the biggest blessing and if you're faced with a challenge time right now - have a think about what it is trying to teach you and how you can grow from it 

I AM

Everyday I remind myself of who I am at the core 

I AM abundant 

I AM a man of God 

I AM a spiritual being 

I AM successful

I AM an athlete 

And so on 

If I truly believe these to the core - then I cannot let any outside circumstances sway my thinking and think I am any less than I believe.

If i believe I AM abundant - When money isnt flowing in I cant let it affect me 

If i believe I AM confident - my confidence cannot be rocked or attached to eternal things 

If I believe I AM athlete - when I cannot perform like one, I still must believe I am one

Just like the vision I mentioned above

To be the person you want to become, you have to always believe you're that person at the core regardless of outside circumstances.

This in itself will give you undeniable confidence to the core 

Something that helps me is have I AM statements - I write these down on the notes of my phone and read them to myself everyday!

We become what we think, feel, say and do - Jack Salmon

Conclusion

As mentioned the first quarter of the year externally did not look like a success but internally I wasn't shaken 

I stayed the observer 

I held my vision in my mind 

I reminded myself of why i must get through this 

I focus on growth 

And i reminded myself of who i am everyday 

By doing so I stayed fulfilled, at peace and mentally sting through this adversity and sure enough it paid off.

Already this month I have signed my biggest deals ever and closed more in this month than I have in the first 3 months combined.

I have no double whatever you're facing right now if you apply these 5 principles to your life, you will become Un-shakeable 

Become The Best You

Well done

Well done for showing up, reading this, and being ready to take action.

Most people say they want change — few actually do something about it.
You’re one of the few. 👏

I’d love to hear about your progress!
Reach out to me on and follow me on socials

If you need support, just message me.

Thanks,
Jack