When you feel like life is in limbo, focus on what you can control.
Over the past couple of weeks I have been writing a lot about transitions and transformations.
For many, things are being stripped away. We are being asked to get rid of the old to make way for the new, but this can be difficult when the new is yet to show itself.
We need to trust, to have faith that it will all work out.
I myself have had a couple of weeks of uncertainty. There are some key life things that are in flux and navigating this while also still needing to go about my daily life has been challenging at times.
I have the type of mind that likes to plan things. It makes me a good project manager, as I can easily switch things up, rearrange as needed. But where it gets me into trouble is planning for things that may never happen. I get twisted up in all the possible scenarios.
Lately my mind has been going through 'if Option A occurs, then I will do things this way, Option B will look like this. Or perhaps Option A may need to look a little different so this can happen, or an Option C may be needed ... ' And on and on and on. With no certainty about any of it, all this thinking just makes me tired and anxious.
So I chose to focus on what IS certain in my life right now, and it was as simple as focusing on what was scheduled for the day ahead.
I knew that I had a midday meeting. I knew that I had some phone calls to make. I knew that I needed to clean the house. I also knew the basic things, like that I was going to have a shower, have lunch and what I wanted to make for dinner. I wrote down all of these details in a timeline for my day, including the times that I was going to do everything.
And right there, I created certainty for myself.
Focusing on this list helped me feel calm and in control. My mind didn't need to jump around imagining possible future scenarios as I had given it something real to focus on.
By the afternoon, I had confirmed what was happening in one key part of my life. Greater certainty—beautiful. The next day, the other big limbo part of my life was confirmed.
Through feeling calm and certain about the things I could control, I was able to call in certainty in other areas of my life.
The mind finds it hard to focus on positive and negative at the same time, so giving it something positive to play with brings in more of the good stuff. This is similar to the effects of a gratitude practise, which is the more you notice the good in your life, the more good you see.
So the next time you are finding yourself out of sorts, ask yourself:
+ How do I want to feel?
+ What can I do right now to feel this way?
Then focus on doing the things that will help you feel the way you want to feel.
For more tips on what to do when you feel unsettled, check out this post.
The next Meraki Masterclass, Aligning to Your Life Purpose is on Wednesday 6 March. Learn how to recognise and release the gifts inside you. Find out more here.