Landing On Your Feet!
When life throws you a curve ball, what do you do? The first reaction is often one of fear and confusion about what is next. All this leads to stress, and then it’s hard to imagine how it will all work out and we can’t imagine how we will land on our feet, but we always do.
This happened to me last week. Just as we were ready to leave for 6 weeks in Florida, our cat fell and broke her leg, needed hospitalization, surgery, and extended care when she came home. Not only did we have to worry about our pet, but the expense of emergency care and surgery, plus the money we would lose from canceling our rental unit. Needless to say, it felt like our life had been thrown for a loop.
We all have had situations like this that have happened in our lives. It might be our health an injury, or the death of someone close to us. It does not matter what the cause is, just that we have been left with the unexpected and our lives have been disrupted. At times like this, it feels like we are at the mercy of our circumstances and our minds can easily create the worst-case scenario. When we are in a place of stress and fear we are unable to use our best thinking skills or see how we can land on our feet.
We can’t do anything about what happens to us, but we can do something about how to react to it and handle it. Since it does not take much to go down the rabbit hole of fear and negative thoughts, it does take conscious effort to move from that place.
The first thing is to believe that we have the power to override our negative thoughts and fears, we don’t have to go where they want to take us. Always, remember that our fear can be bigger than life itself and can be paralyzing if not managed. To move from a state of fear and negativity you can just pay attention to what you are thinking and acknowledge that is what you are doing. Just being aware of where your thoughts are puts you in a position to do something about them.
When you realize that you don’t have to go where your fear and negative thoughts want to take you, there is the opportunity to take another step. The easiest way to do that is to stay present with what you know right now. When your mind goes out to the future and replays all the things that can go wrong you are in fear and anxiety. When you can stay present with what you know you can proceed forward with knowledge rather than emotion. I know this is not easy and it takes practice. Every time you feel yourself going into fear or anxiety notice that is what is happening and bring it back to the present and what you know. Doing this can bring balance back to you and restore your ability to make decisions on what you know rather than what you fear.
When you are in the present, you then can shift your perspective into something more uplifting. Make a commitment to yourself that you will notice when your thoughts are not helping you and you can pause and re-direct yourself to the present moment.
We all have times in our lives when we have faced adversity, so we have some experience with it. Asking ourselves what part we handled well and noticing where our weaknesses were. From these experiences, we can repeat what worked and pass by those that didn't.
We don’t know when we will come up against a curve ball, but what we do know is that we will not abandon ourselves by inaction, fear, or negativity. We will trust ourselves to know and believe that we are smart, and capable and we will take steps based on what we know. We know how to adjust our perspective to remain positive and we won’t allow ourselves to stay in fear and negativity. Trust that you can and will take care of yourself, ask for help if you need it and you will land on your feet, no matter what comes your way. No matter what, you are smart, capable, and able to navigate through whatever comes your way,