A Challenging Paradigm
“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears,” Nelson Mandela
We are living through a challenging paradigm where we all need to stay connected, while staying separated. Humanity is not accustomed to being physically apart from family, friends and work colleagues for several weeks, however the stakes are too high for us not to. It’s not surprising that the roller coaster of our emotions run the gamut from shock, denial, anger, fury, despair, numbness, isolation, desperation and frustration.
Letting negative emotions control you is easy. It’s easy to get worked up and create an even worse situation because the only thing we have control over is how we react to the situation at hand, and how we treat others in the process.
Adversity is something that everyone faces at some point in his or her life. These difficult and trying times, however, are not what define us, but the way in which we react to them is what reveals our true character.
Knowledge comes from everything we do and everything that happens to us. We learn valuable lessons over the course of time based on our experiences and the ways in which we react to them. Every hardship that we can’t control presents an opportunity. Your thoughts and attitude change your experience and shape your life and the lives of those around you.
You don’t have control over what happens to you these days, but you do have control over how you respond to what happens. Don’t let fear become your driver. You have a choice when it comes to reactions and although in the moment, you want to get angry, flip the opportunity into something of value that you can control. Do something constructive. Breathe, take a moment to reach out to an old friend, deliver a carry-out meal to someone, be kind to yourself, update your skills by participating in a webinar, smile, read a story to a child, stay focused on the greater good.