When Life Throws You Curveballs

“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated” Maya Angelou

During this pandemic, most people would have been at a loss for the endless readjustment to the new life we may have to go through. Some of it may be slightly uncomfortable, some hugely devastating.

This past few months, I was experiencing such. From death of a beloved to leaking roofs, the challenges seem to be piled up, one after the other on top of covid-19 turmoils. There were days of devastation and wanting to throw in the towel, there were days of anger and resentment, there were days of calm, peace and knowing the Divine presence have got my back. Here’s how I stayed sane amongst all these chaos, which you might find useful too.

STEP 1: BREATHE

The simplest thing can be so effective. If you don’t believe me, give it a go right now. Put anything distracting away and find a quiet spot to sit alone and just let be and focus on your breathing. Breathing light into your heart, mind, body and soul… then exhale all the stress away and out of your body. Do it for a few minutes and notice what is different. With just this simple tool, you can immediately feel more centered and calm to be able to proceed with the next steps.

STEP 2: BREAK IT DOWN

When challenges piles on top of each other, it gets pretty overwhelming. Kinda like a huge ball above your shoulders that is crushing all the air out of you all the time, all at once. You want to run and hide but you can’t and have to deal with all of it. At this moment in time, it helps to step back from the overwhelm and take a piece of paper and gather your thoughts. What exactly needs to be done? List them all down and take a good look at it. From simple things like buying groceries to important things like the Doctor’s appointment, just put it all down on paper.

STEP 3: MARK IT RIGHT

What is most urgent? Which task can I ask for help on? What is beyond my control? Listing it all down and categorizing things into different urgencies will help the mind not to shut down into overwhelm. Prioritise the things that you can do now as opposed to those you cannot do anything about. Like Covid or politicians going crazy or watching a loved one frail away. You cannot control the things that will affect you. You may go out and vote to make a difference, however, it is still an external factor that will unfold in its own time, so you let that take its course.

STEP 4: ASK FOR HELP

This step has not been an easy one for me as I am a modern female wanting to do it all, so asking for help is my learning and since it is not possible to do everything that needs to be done in time and sanely, I needed to learn to ask for help from family and friends. You get surprised at how much people really care and are there for you when you ask them for it.

STEP 5: PIVOT AWAY, Far Far Away

Sometimes we only see what we are used to seeing. Or we label ourselves, the world in a way that is normal. However, what COVID has taught us all is that pivoting is crucial as the world is changing. It is changing at a rapid rate and we need to think out of the box. If a Discotheque can shift to a cycling studio, so can you and your business or making an income. There are jobs out there that need to be filled, like Virtual Assistants (yes we are looking for one too) and Social Media Manager. More online platform available for Coaches and Healers to reach worldwide. It is a weird time and also an opportune time to pivot. Learn a new skill, take up a new challenge and get creative. There are still plenty of opportunities out there.

STEP 6: JUST TAKE ANOTHER BABY STEP

Things may be new to you or different because you have not done it before but you can figure it out by just taking your first step in the direction of what needs to be done. If you need to take another job on but have no experience, take up a course, learn to be in a different role, test it out. Give it your best shot. You may not get it down today however because you took the first step, tomorrow will already look and feel different for you.