You Don’t Have to Ride the Rollercoaster
The headlines are anxiety-inducing. The market is swinging, and executive "orders" tariffs, cancellations, and strong language are flinging.
Our nervous systems are on high alert. Our neurochemical soups are overloaded with cortisol and stress hormones.
We are being offered a complex and exhilarating opportunity to practice embracing nuance, equanimity, and finding order and calm in the chaos.
Moments of historic challenge and catalytic events often lead to unprecedented transformation.
The pandemic was clarifying for many. Health crises are often also.
Unprecedented political "situations" and financial market instabilities are "catalytic events."
Just like in 2020, what we know as our normal is being flipped upside down. Shock, sadness, grief, anger, and disillusionment are expected.
We don't have to like it. Or know what's going on. We can wish it were different. We can allow ourselves anger, frustration, sadness, and even grief.
And then?
We can choose to see change as an opportunity to better ourselves. We can lean into or out of the notion that this is all happening "to us."
Choosing to stay out of victimhood, even if we are victims, is where we can make a difference-- in both our experience and the outcome of what's happening.
This is what mindfulness and coaching are all about.
They offer tools to navigate a rapidly changing world with buoyancy and equanimity.
And boy is it changing rapidly right now.
In Western culture, we tend to focus on our minds and changing our thinking, often to the exclusion of attending to the signals and responses sent by our bodies.
This is especially true for those of us in medicine who were taught to ignore our own body signals.
In times like these, paying attention to both is a game-changer.
Attending to mind and body is key to navigating exhilarating and complex situations with equanimity and grace.
We can smooth out the dips and slow down the speed with mindfulness, yoga, breathing, nature, and rest.
We can do this by immersing ourselves in all that is good at a retreat, or by caring for our minds and bodies at home with micromoments of mindfulness and nature, as well as with virtual coaching.
What is in your control right now is how you take care of yourself, mind, and body.
What you do and practice
What you don't do and practice
What you say
What you don't say
What you think and feel
What you choose not to think and feel
The tone and energy with which you choose to do all this
None of this is easy.
It takes work and investing in yourself, but it is worth it!
This is how moments of historic challenge can lead to unprecedented positive transformation.
So please, pause, breathe, and choose:
How do you want to move through the next four hours, days, weeks, and years?
What energy do you want to bring?
What will success look like?
And what tools do you need to empower yourself with to make this happen?