2021: Navigating Uncertainty
The Importance of Quelling Anxiety in Uncertain Times
The way I see anxiety is that it comes from a discrepancy between your view/understanding of the present and the future. Any perceived inability to plan for the future you want would cause this. And this is what the major theme of 2021 has been - navigating uncertainty.
First, of course most of you have anxiety - on top of the anxieties you already had in life prior to these massive shifts in all of our lives - by the sheer fact that it's 2021. I feel like it's something everyone has been going through this year in waves, even if it's not their usual state of being. And if it tends to be, it's likely gotten worse. There is nothing easy about 2021. So be kind to yourselves.
Second, let's talk about ways we can alleviate this... coping mechanisms, strategies, self-care routines, mindset shifts... anything that helps YOU, let's hear it in the comments - you will likely help someone else here in a huge way!!
A lot of this is mindset. When you find yourselves hyperfixating on the things you can't control, you can regain ground by coming back to the present and refocusing on the things you can. Focusing on the things you cannot control will absolutely lead you to a place of anxiety, whereas planning for the things you CAN control has a way of quelling it.
Then, it's time to ask oneself, "Do I know what I need to know here? Is this actionable? Can I actually do anything about this? Is it time to move on? Is looking into this making me feel better or is it adding to my anxiety? What do I gain by continuing?"
Depends what resonates with you energetically, but Bengston technique is great for bringing in. For letting go, could be as simple as writing down what you want to leave behind and then burning what you wrote.
Keep it simple. When you make it harder than it is, it brings additional anxiety into the picture. You want to keep your frequency high.
For me, research quells my anxiety. The more I know, the better I feel. If that's not you, stop looking at it. Don't get too sucked into the rabbit holes. It's one thing to research something to quell your curiosity, but if there's nothing you can do about it and knowing doesn't alleviate any anxiety you might have, time is much better spent working on developing your skill sets!! :)
If you are hyperfixated on the things you can't control, you end up wasting valuable time that you could be using to focus on the things you can control in order to improve your situation - by stocking up, by learning new skills, by taking care of your loved ones, by focusing on self-care, by staying as connected with the people you care about as you possibly can even in situations where circumstances make physical proximity impossible.
Take care of your basic human needs first. Food, water, shelter, clothing, love, health, well being, learning, growing, taking the time to think, reflect, meditate, connect - these are the primary focuses.
If you've got these covered, expand from there. If you don't, this is where your focus needs to be. Create a better baseline. It'll never be perfect. But it will strengthen your odds for sure.
Just keep at it, remember self-care, take breaks, enjoy yourselves, pay attention to keeping anxiety down to a dull roar or transmute it into action, and you won't experience burnout.
Very important. We talked about just making sure you take small steps each day that lead to huge wins over time. Stick with that and you'll always come out better than you were the day before. That's the goal. Take inventory of what's bothering you. Journal about it. Talk it through. And focus on coming up with a game plan for it. Identifying exactly what it IS goes a long way. Because then you can refocus the energy on making sure that, whatever it is, you've got it covered. Write down what's bothering you. That's where I would start. Don't judge what comes out. It's just for you. Just sit and write and you'll start to see what it is.
The zeitgeist has shifted. Whatever YOU need to do to get focused, whatever quells your anxiety, now is the time. You do what you do best - and be fucking amazing at it for the good of everyone. We need your best selves right now. Don't hesitate. Bring your creativity, your resourcefulness, your problem solving abilities, your sense of humor, your kindness, your compassion, your strength, your years upon years of schooling and experience, your desire to HELP in any way you possibly can. Bring the BEST YOU to the table RIGHT NOW and do it in a big way. If everyone commits to that, we will be unstoppable.
Here's the thing we know that most others don't - what you think/believe, you manifest. This is WHY the media is trying to control the narrative. Luckily, most by now know the media is full of shit. Keep focusing on the outcome you WANT. When you worry, you bring about what you don't want.
With the acceptance thing - this might resonate with you. So you know how I'm always saying when there's a discrepancy between future and present you get anxiety and between past and present you get depression because your brain ends up hung up on rectifying the discrepancy? It's similar with acceptance because there's a chasm between what you think Should Be and what actually Is. And if you start from Should Be, you can't get to optimal from there. You have to start from Is and optimize for that. And then you make progress.
Resources:
How to recenter by Scott Jeffrey. This is important for protection from psychic attack as well as in general to keep your mood up if you're having a rough day.
79 self-care ideas for stressed out people pleasers by Barrie Davenport.
Monroe Institute’s Hemi Sync Podcast Episode 15: Corinne Zupko on Releasing Anxiety:
Guided Meditation for Detachment From Over-Thinking by Michael Sealey: