Coping in a new world…
We live in uncertain times. The pandemic has had an impact on most of our lives. But if we think about the adversities many generations before us faced, we see that it is part of living. We are here to have a spectrum of human experience, and without the unexpected, we would not appreciate what positives life has to offer. Discover the key to serenity and peace today.
The power of being in the NOW, and accepting the present can offer relief and a chance to explore the possibilities to change our future for the better. Resistance brings us suffering. Fighting reality is fighting yourself.
The pandemic is inevitably happening, we cannot change this circumstance instantly, but we are able to decide how to think about it, it is our choice. We can’t control it but we have to honour our feelings and learn to act from a place of peace, acceptance and love so we can make the right choices even when it’s not easy. We may face physical restrictions, but we are free in our thinking.
People or Circumstances?
We are taught that people or circumstances make our feelings, other people are responsible for our emotions. But we never learn how to process them. The truth is that we create our emotions through our internal dialogue. This is a powerful thought.
It means we can solve our problems internally, not externally. For examle: we can choose to think about the pandemic as a disaster and a fully negative event. As a result, we can feel hopeless. But if we harness the mind, accept the present and decide to look for the possibilities, the world becomes limitless. Maybe this is a chance to use your time for the commute to pursue a hobby, or connect with people all over the world digitally. Just seeing the picture from the angle of possibilities can change how you feel as well as how you interact with yourself and others.
Avoidance…
Avoidance can offer temporary relief from trauma and pain. But suffering is also not an essential component for growth. We can become stronger by changing how we tell our story, from a place of victimhood or survival. We can’t change the facts but we can decide what to make of them and build a new world from the ashes.
Lacking awareness of what you are thinking and feeling, and trying to fix negative emotions through escaping can indicate an unhealthy relationship with yourself. It may lead to overeating, drinking or working too much, watching endless TV, scrolling through social media, etc. The victim mentality can set in when we blame others for the choices we make, leaving us powerless.
Emotions are harmless until we give them power. We can learn healthy coping mechanisms to experience the world fully through emotions - the bigger the spectrum, the more interesting our life.
The best way to deal with an uncomfortable, unpleasant emotion is to get comfortable, relax, breathe in deeply, and focus on full exhaling like getting it out of your body physically. Before reacting to the feeling, pause and…
• Identify the emotion, name it
• Honour it, sit with it, remember that emotions are harmless, they are just vibrations in your body
• We feel through how we think, identify the thought that is connected to the feeling
• Find a new thought to reframe the situation in order to achieve your goal
Feel how this new thought creates a different feeling, and how deeply that resonates in your body.
If you honour the emotion instead of reacting, avoiding, or rejecting it, you will own it and that’s powerful. Advance the practice by talking to your future self. What would they feel, think and do? Just ask for advice, brainstorm new perspectives.
Set SMART goals to reach your fullest potential
Many people don’t want to set goals to avoid failure. But progress requires trial and error - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You need to learn how to face the world and move past fear. It can be uncomfortable but you can overcome it. Know that your power comes from within, support yourself with internal dialogue that creates courage, commitment, determination, a feeling of purpose, willingness and discipline. Remember why you started and where you are to beat dread, anxiety, worry, fear, and frustration which are stopping you from reaching your goals. Decide not indulge these emotions, but channel them to move forward, to motivate you to be stronger and better.
There are two types of failure: failing forward when life throws stuff at us, taking risks, going beyond the comfort zone, learning and growing, or failing ahead of time by sabotaging ourselves and staying in our comfort zone.
If my message resonates with you, and you want to build a robust self-support system that will bring you the future you deserve, let’s get started today.
I encourage you to incorporate empowering questions into your daily routine:
How can I make today better than yesterday?
How can I do my job and enjoy the day?
How can I make choices that are helpful to me and others around me?
What do I love about myself?
What can I create today?
How can I be useful to people?
What are my great qualities?
How can I live my best life?
Art & Museum.
My method and tips for a better life were recently published in the Art & Museum magazine.