When stressful things happen, when breakdown occurs, and things go wrong we can find ourselves in a space where we feel like we just can’t take anymore. The overwhelm can be extreme and it can be hard to find a way to keep moving forward. But this is what we must do. Because you don’t want to stop in the places where things aren’t happy. You need to keep moving so that you can move out of those places and into new places where things are better.
Pressure Creates Diamonds
It can seem like the pressure is too much, but this is not true. We are never given more than we can handle. It may take some time or the support of friends or family, but ultimately we can weather any storm. It is in these moments of pressure and pain, of fear and fret when we get the chance to best learn about ourselves. It is during these times when we have the opportunity to pace being who it is that we are choosing to be.
Look Fear in the Face
I discovered something about fear today. Fear is a funny thing. If you don’t want to look at it, then it runs your life by making you run away from it. You can find yourself frantically seeking for distraction or for solutions. At least this is what you think you’re seeking. What’s actually happening is that you’re desperately seeking a path away from your fear. On the other hand, if you dive directly into your fear, it can overwhelm your senses, making you anxious and panicked. It can cause shortness of breath and shut down all ability to think as the fear seeps into your bones and paralyzes you. And so we can sometimes feel that there is no solution to fear. But there is a third path.
Beating Fear
There is the path of stepping into the fear without engaging in it. How do you do this? It’s about stepping into the energy you’ve been running away from without engaging the thoughts that the fear is creating. The thoughts are what can trap you in a cycle of panic, but the energy is what keeps you running desperately grasping at straws so that you can stop feeling the need to run. It is in acknowledging and stepping into the need to run that we gain control of our fears. We can face that urgency to flee that is instinctive in our bodies and be able to allow our bodies to acknowledge that there is no physical danger from which we must run. When we can step out of that place of fight-or-flight panic, we can begin to step into a place of rational response.
Become More Conscious
It is also during this time that we can learn about ourselves and how we process situations. When we are under stress, when the world is not working according to our plan, we are forced into situations that bring out aspects of ourselves we didn’t know existed. We get the chance to explore our shadow selves. We see what the dark sides of our own psyches have to tell us. It shows us our blind spots and highlights the buttons that still need to be removed. So pay attention to your thoughts and actions more closely than ever when the stress levels get turned up. It’s incredible what you can learn.
Don’t Give Up – Keep Moving
But most importantly, don’t stop moving forward. It’s easy to get depressed and think that it’s safer to stay in bed than it is to go out in the world, but if it is meant to be, the universe will send you a tornado to rip you out of bed anyway. Safety is a myth. So don’t let your life be ruled by the pursuit of it. In the words of Helen Keller “life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.” So instead of lamenting your woes, see the opportunity in them. Instead of worrying about what you’ve lost go looking for what is coming in to fill the space that was left behind by that loss. Instead of looking behind you to see what’s coming next to kick you in the pants, look ahead of you to decide what you choose to bring into your life to make it soar. Life happens. What will you do with the surprises you’re offered?
