“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage” - unknown
There is a lot of fear in the world at the moment, as we all come to terms with the uncertainty. The anticipation of possible pain.
Before we look at how realistic the fear is, we have to first address what it is that you’re most afraid of. As humans, we fear the unknown. What we don’t know terrifies us. Ask yourself - what exactly are you afraid of?
By naming it, you can break it down and start to work with it. It may be that when you examine it, you may realize that it is other people’s fear that is affecting you. Sometimes fear of the unknown.
Once you let anxiety spiral out of control, it is much harder to recover from it, so if you can avoid going down that lane, you will have a much easier ride.
In this blog, I give you my top tips to help avoid the anxiety spiral:
How To Stay Above Fear. Have Courage.
They say courage is the absence of fear. I like to imagine courage as being aware of that negative feeling but going forward anyway. Cautiously but with determination.
Being aware of what you might be faced with prepares you (mentally) for what lies ahead. It's that inner strength that will replace the fear within. The two can't live in the same place. One has to vacate for the other to exist.
The first step to reducing your sense of fear is to take a breath. Ground yourself in the here and now, because that is all you have. Stay present - what can you see, feel and hear? Notice the details. This tool can be invaluable as it helps you to stay mindful and grounded in every single moment.
In the present moment, there is nothing to fear or worry about. Anxiety is a fear of the future, but we haven’t got there yet.
Yes, we can envision tomorrow, but that is where you should leave it. What we do in the present moment will shape our tomorrow, so if you are full of anxiety for the future today, then you aren’t contributing positively to your tomorrow.
Every minute that passes helps to create the future and if that passing minute was negative or low, that will create the same tomorrow just like building blocks. Spiralling!!!!
A wise friend once said that how we feel today is how we'll feel tomorrow or years later when we look back at our lives. If we live in constant fear today, it's almost guaranteed we'll make a habit of it and feel the same tomorrow or years to come unless we make conscious decision to feel otherwise.
2. Practice Daily Gratitude.
There's so much to be grateful for even during a crisis. We take so much in our life for granted, but by taking a few moments in your day to be grateful, you can really brighten up your mood.
When you lie down in bed tonight, try and think of two or three things that you are truly, deeply grateful for and bask in that gratitude. Really feel how thankful you are for those special moments and little coincidences in your day. This will really set you up for a restful night’s sleep without anxiety.
3. Exercise Regularly
There are many benefits of exercising but of the least talked about is the mental wellbeing. When we exercise, the body releases chemicals called endorphins.
They trigger a positive feeling in the body while reducing anxiety and stress caused by fear and overwhelm.
4. Creatures of Habit
As humans, we are creatures of habit and like to do the things that we’ve always done. Any changes to the status quo put us in a state of uncertainty and worry for the future.
Choose to feel everything. When you feel, you can bring those feelings to the surface and process them. We cannot heal what we do not feel.
Using these moments of habitude, we can bring mindfulness to our every day and try to centre the feelings of anxiety before they arise. Take a moment when doing the washing up to feel the bubbles on your hands, the smell of the washing up liquid, and the warmth of the water. Noticing these moments will bring you back to the present and help you to stay mindful.
You can then move on to feel your surroundings and gradually learn to go within and bring out those feeling for processing.
5. Be an Ambassador of Hope, Love, Peace and Light
We can choose to become victims of panic and fear, or we can choose to rise above it and be ambassadors for a new way. To bring hope, peace and love to our communities.
When you change the way that you see things, the things that you see will change. Just as you choose to tune in to a radio station, you can choose to tune in to the global fear and panic, or you can choose to see things with hope and bring light to those around you.
Know that for every dark moment, there is light inside. When you walk into a dark room, you automatically look for the light switch. You can do the same thing here.
You can choose to look for the light within you and illuminate the world and help others to use your light to find their own inner peace.
6. Remember the Future
Do you want to breakdown or have a breakthrough?
All of us dream of having a big breakthrough at some point in our lives. Those moments of breakthrough aren’t wrapped up in shiny paper for us though.
In order to get that breakthrough, we have to go through some tough times. Those times require us to literally breakthrough, rather than just walking through.
When you remember the future that you want, you will get the motivation to help you to have the breakthrough. Your future will help to pull you through instead of you trying to push forward. You can surrender and trust.
Surrender is a lot easier and you can observe and harness the power in the present moment. Understand that the now is the process that you need to go through.
Yes, we like to be in control of our environment as creatures of habit, but even if we just feel in control then we can relax. Try releasing the control and know that by doing so, you will be in prime position for an upgrade. The breakthrough that you’ve been waiting for.
Hope you found these helpful.
I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to stay positive during times of uncertainty.
Stay Home. Stay Safe.
Lots of love.
BeNice
(Leave me comment below if there's something you would like to share. For the Embrace Change blog, click here)
