“The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.” – John Milton
December has arrived!
It’s that final stretch before it’s all holiday shopping, vacation packing, and of course Christmas duo — Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé — on almost every radio station.
But right now, there are things to wrap up at work, tight deadlines to meet, and holiday planning.
It can begin to feel overwhelming, more so within the parameters of the still-there pandemic.
Perhaps you’re looking back at the year, thinking, “Gosh. What a year! It was just one challenge after another! I need to catch my breath.”
As human beings, it is easy for us to look at the challenges in our lives and feel thrown off balance, stressed, or unable to quite take a breath in fearful anticipation of yet another challenge. To only see the one side — the negative side where it’s just worry, anxiety, and apprehension.
But if we acknowledge that the world we live in is a two-sided world made up of BOTH good and bad, positives and negatives, and pause to look for the good/positive in any challenge, we have a more balanced perception.
In this state of equilibrium, we will not easily succumb to states of worry and overwhelm.
And while we may not have control over everything that happens in life, we certainly have control over our perceptions, actions, and decisions.
Whenever you perceive a challenge in your life to be too stressful or overwhelming (or just “bad”) it is wise to ask yourself this question: How is whatever that is happening to me serving me in the most important areas of my life (my highest priorities)?
Let’s examine a scenario.
Say your boss is on your heels, pushing you to meet a very tight deadline, and you’re feeling stressed and angry at him/her.
If your highest priority is your career, having your boss push you to meet that deadline could help you to see that you do have the ability to work more efficiently, more methodically, and function in a high-pressure environment. And who knows, perhaps this could mean a promotion down the line!
If your highest priority happens to be your family, perhaps being pushed by your boss helps you to work faster, saving you from having to work late or take work home, which allows you to spend more quality time with your family.
While it can be difficult to reflect and look for the “good” in any “bad” situation — when you do, you step into the driver’s seat of your life.
You no longer perceive things (bad things) as “happening to you.”
Instead, you see that everything that is happening is always serving you.
It is happening FOR you.
What are you perceiving in your life right now?
Are you feeling challenged by the events in your life and cannot see how they are doing any “good” for you?
Or maybe you can but feel as if the “bad” outweighs the “good”?
If so, then that is okay. We have all been there.
Email me at ilze@ilzealberts.com or send me a WhatsApp if you would love to shift from a place of anxiety, worry, or overwhelm to a place of gratefulness, certainty, and poise.
I am here for you — do not hesitate to reach out to me.
From my heart to yours,
Ilze
