It can be a challenging time when our world as we know it shifts beneath our feet. One of my favourite quotes is:
Don’t worry about having the carpet pulled from under your feet; learn to dance on a shifting carpet.
That’s the key right now, and it all depends on where your focus is and what attitude you choose to bring to this moment. At no point in time has it been more important to manage your mental state and choose where your mind goes and what you are focusing on. The world does seem to be spinning off in all directions. If you are focused on the doom and gloom then that is going to be all you will see. If you shorten your focus and become present in the moment, you will be able to see that you are, in fact, okay. You will also be much more likely to creatively deal with whatever comes towards you personally and still create the life you want.
Whatever is happening in your world at this moment right now you have one tool that is very powerful – the free will to choose your attitude to what is going on around you. In my book Remembering Perfection in the chapter “Reality and Attitude” I talk about how the one thing we have absolute control over is the attitude we choose to adopt when something happens in our lives. Right now, when it can feel like everything is outside of your control it is quite useful to feel in control of one aspect.
So choose your attitude. If you are affected negatively by something happening in the world ask yourself what attitude can I adopt that would put me in the most positive mindset to handle this well? Instead of focusing on what is causing you to feel fearful or worried shift your focus to something better. Ask yourself how else might I view this situation? That is a powerful question to ask.
I am not saying don’t be informed about the world – that would be irresponsible – but I am saying don’t watch the repeats of the bad news all day, every day. Don’t drip feed negativity into your life and mind. Get the information that is relevant to your life, deal with it in whatever way you can, and then be vigilant as to where your focus goes for the rest of the day. I have found that by severely limiting my exposure to the news and newspapers I still know what is going on in the world, but I don’t choose to talk about it all the time, churn it over with friends how terrible things are and make it my main focus of the day. If you cannot take positive action that helps the situation you are worried about do not add to it with your fear and worried thoughts.
Often our fears are mental constructs that we get caught up in, and then it can be very difficult to talk ourselves back into calmness and clarity. Once we start to focus on the fear factor the filters in our unconscious mind start to look for evidence of what we are focusing on. That’s just how the mind works. With this in mind start to become aware of what you are filtering for and consciously give yourself a new focus. Our attitude to what is happening is a filter too so start to become very aware of the attitude you are approaching your own life with.
These are turbulent times, and to flow with it as smoothly as possible and deal with all that comes, a positive attitude will serve us the best. The present moment holds that calm space, so I invite you to spend some time each day getting in touch with that space within you that is always present. The space where you feel strong and competent and not only ready and able to deal with whatever may come, but also able to go out and create the life you want. In that present moment everything is fine, and only in that present moment are you able to make choices. Choose wisely.
