How to stay calm in an uncertain situation?
I picked this topic this week, since it’s a situation I am dealing with right now.
Being a public school teacher and a mom of a teenager during this pandemic , is stressful enough to rip your mind apart and put all your planning/experience in dealing with anxiety under a big question mark.
Searching through different resources and possible ways to cope with the anxiety coming from dealing with an unknown situation, I came up with one important answer. Let’s dive in.
As a type A person who always wants to have plans for different types of scenarios in life, this current fluid situation has blown my mind away!! It is overwhelming!!!
But what if we think through it again with a different approach? That’s what I did.
Imagine we are improv actors who are performing with no script and based on what’s going on around us. What your approach would be in that situation? Are you going to get super anxious every-time you want to say a sentence? Or play a role? It’s better not to. Because it’s your day job and if you want that anxiety to burn you out every time you are on the stage, nothing is gonna left from you at the end of the day.
Ok, here is what I found; if the situation is playing like this with me for now and is leaving me on a floating boat with no direction/map to go, at least I have control over one thing, and that’s my mind. Let’s dive deeper:
Can I function better as a human, make better choices and stay healthy,
- when I panic over all these news?
or
-when I decide to think positively, and be grateful for any small but good thing that I have right now?
How do I want to impact others? Those who are around me, live with me or work with me ?
How do I want to feel about myself?
All above concerns could be under my control, if I decide to have power over them.
Don’t underestimate your mind’s power. You may probably say, “It’s easy to say these things but how?”
There are ways to help you stay positive. Again these are not my recommendations, these are what I read or listened to from experts in the fields and different resources. Ok, here are some ways to help you stay positive:
Take a break from those challenging moments physically and mentally. If there are too many meetings or conversations around those overwhelming uncertain situations, take a break from them. Don’t attend them if possible and if not, then don’t let those overwhelming conversations affect your thoughts. You still can take part, but be active without harming yourself.
Consider sometime just for yourself, doing what you enjoy, or do nothing, read your favorite book or watch your favorite show, meditate or pray.
Create, create, create!!!!! Always create if you can ;) I put this one under a separate bullet because we are all creators and this part means a lot for us. Start working on a journal, do some writing if it’s your thing or spend sometime for drawing or painting your ideas . You can get inspired by different online and social media resources like Pinterest, Instagram or YouTube.
Note- One option would be to take my free watercolor lesson, Dream-Like Journey which helps your creativity juices flow by letting go of perfection :)
-Take a hot shower or have some peaceful time in the tub with some essential oils. Here is a blog sharing some helpful tips on that.
-Go on a nature walk. It’s probably one of the best strategies to support your well being. Read more on that here.
And most importantly, remember this old Persian adage ,”This too shall pass.”
Do you have any favorite strategy on how to stay calm in dealing with uncertain situations? Please share them with us.
Always Create!❤️
Sepi Gol Art
