If you haven’t been flooded by a constant stream of information due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak, it’s safe to say that you’ve been living under a rock! But as well and good as this information may be, it can also cause a lot of fear and anxiety amongst us – just look at the panic buying of toilet paper and other goods.
The great British way is to ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ in situations like these, but is it easier said than done?
Leading UK life coach Carole Ann Rice is talking us through 6 ways to develop a psyche for success in difficult times:
1.Stay in the ‘now’ – try to focus on the current moment you’re living in and avoid trying to control or panic about future outcomes. The human brain loves certainty, but none of us can actually control the future. That being said, the likelihood that everything will be okay is very high – so use that as a comforting tool.
2. Let go – you will lose 100% of the time if you argue with reality. Imagine a rigid stick in a fast-flowing stream, pushing again the tide. Eventually it will weaken and snap. Be the reed that bends with the flow. Unnecessarily struggling and fighting against reality can cause you to bring undue suffering upon yourself, creating more anxiety and fear as you lose the battle.
3. Name it to tame it – lower your eyes and realise your current thoughts and emotions. Whether they’re stressful or anxious thoughts, consider putting them in jars which will help you to ‘close the lid’ on negativity and allow you to move on. Feeling your thoughts and feelings escalating? Then keep a journal – write it all out, sketch or colour illustrate how things are for you right now. By parking your thoughts and feeling you master your mind – name it to tame it!
4. Work on yourself – use extra time to better yourself and develop new skills – be it as simple as a new recipe or cultivating an indoor garden. Do whatever it takes for you to realign yourself with positivity. You’d be surprised at how simply taking some time for yourself can really boost your happiness levels and decrease stress.
5. Patience is a superpower – we live in wild, fast and crazy times filled with instant gratification. Meals in 90 seconds, swiping left or right at lightning speed on dating apps. This is all well and good, but it means we have ultimately forgotten the art of slow living. Cook slow meals, eat slowly, saunter don’t rush, relish having extra time on your hands and see that sometimes taking things slowly has its own richness.
6. Develop a non-clinging mind – our biggest emotional pain is having expectations of life, of people, of ourselves. Trying to control outcomes, trying to control the future and wanting people to be the way we want them to be only causes anguish and disappointment.
