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Bishop T.D. Jakes appeared on a TV special where he gave some timely advice. It seems like every time you turn on the news there’s a new disease or some terrible crime has been committed. It can be easy to sink into anxiety and hopelessness.

Jakes gives tips on how to find peace during tough times. Here’s what he had to say. 

T.D. Jakes says don’t focus on the problem

When things go wrong, your first response might be to focus on the problem and become anxious. However, Jakes advises us to focus instead on how we can turn the situation and make it work in our favor. He uses the example of how the most successful businesses take advantage of a crisis by creating a solution to a problem.

“The conditions around you don’t have to be right in order for you to spring forth,” Jakes tells Matt and Laurie Crouch during a TBN special titled “Finding Peace.”

“The ground is dry, but the root is still springing up. We need to not so much focus on the dryness of the ground, using this as an opportunity to rethink our lives, and use the innovation that this disruption has caused, to maximize who we are.”

Prepare to win

Although things seem tough now, Jakes says it’s important to remember that you will eventually come out a winner. Even he’s had struggles, and he says he did reach a point where he began to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Jakes says he came from humble beginnings when he started pastoring. The churches he pastored in weren’t full and the most they would get on Easter Sunday would be about 40 people. However, he began to see an increase in attendance when he began pastoring his Dallas, Texas church. Jakes says he wasn’t prepared for success. He thought he would always operate on a smaller scale.

“The one thing that people who have struggled fail to prepare for is winning,” says Jakes. We prepare for sustaining ourselves through the struggles. But we have no business plan, no mantra, no model for winning.”

Find trusted mentors

When you hit a rough patch, it’s important to be able to turn to a mentor who can help you find your way. This is especially true if you’re embarking on a new business or starting a new job. It can be stressful when you feel like you don’t know what to do.

 “A lot of the time when you’re doing something for the first time, the most frightening thing about doing it is trying to figure out what’s normal on this level. And that’s why you need mentors, and you need models in front of you that help you understand whether you’re doing something wrong or whether this just goes along with the turf.”

Be careful about who you spend time with

Jakes says it’s important to mind the company you keep. The wrong people can bring you down and steal your peace.

“When you hang around the wrong kinds of people, they will make you so fearful that you bury your dreams behind your fears,” cautions Jakes. “But many innovative people see disruption as an opportunity to be more fruitful than they’ve ever been in their lives. And in order to get that kind of mentality you have to be around those kinds of people.”

T.D. Jakes says how you respond to trouble matters

“How you respond to trouble determines your outcome,” says Jakes. He says it can be hard, but it pays off to “embrace the sorrow of the season” and believe that you will overcome whatever obstacle you’re facing.

“I challenge you; if you’re going to make anything last, you have to stay when it’s rough and when it’s tough,” he continues. “But in every area where your decision makes the difference, you’ll never be successful if you quit. Don’t jump ship; stay in the process.”

RELATED: 4 Jennifer Lopez Self-Care Tips to Help You Live Your Best Life

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