Feeling uncertain? You're not alone.
How To Thrive During Uncertain Times
The state of the world today is very unpredictable and this leaves many of us feeling scared. In this post, Amanda Gore offers 5 fabulous lessons on how to thrive during uncertain times.
Today, more than ever, it is important to know how to overcome worry in the face of uncertainty. Unfortunately, there are only a few people, or businesses, who have found themselves thriving under the current circumstances!
I hope you’re one of them! Either way, here, I share some of the lessons I have learned from my experience of recent times!
Read on if you think you would like to hear more – otherwise turn on a good comedy and laugh to boost your immune system! Or better – go and laugh with someone – even if they have to be 6 feet away!
Overcoming Uncertainty
Uncertainty creates FEAR because we feel out of control. But here’s the great news!… We always, always have control over one thing. And no one can take that away from us.
We control our thoughts.
Yes, we control our thoughts; the stories we tell ourselves; how present we are; what we choose to believe, and consequently how we choose to behave.
We get to create our life within the bubble of disruption and choose to find something good and work with it – or not. In addition, we can choose to show up and do our best – or not.
The greatest ability we can develop is to observe our thinking and the stories we are telling ourselves. Only then can we assess whether they are helpful or destructive.
Would you believe that 95-99% of these thoughts are unconscious? Therefore, it is so important to bring these into our awareness.
Our emotional state and feelings can change even when nothing in our environment changes - true!
Your stories rule your life – but you are NOT your stories!!
Have you ever wondered why some prisoners of war survive well and others don’t?
Here’s why:
- Mindset
- Awareness of thoughts
- Control of thoughts and stories.
- The decision to serve others.
- The conscious decision to stay present and show up.
These are the things that make the difference.
But how can you use these to start to thrive during uncertain times? Here are a few tips:
Thrive lesson 1: REACH OUT
Where do we belong? Most other global crises I have lived through at some level created cohesion. They pulled people closer together against common ‘enemies’ or entities. But COVID has separated us in many different ways – obviously and insidiously. Humans NEED other humans.
We need interaction, touch, emotional highs and lows, heart to heart connections, the capacity to see each other in person and to feel our ’tribe’.
The concept of ‘fitting in’ and belonging somewhere is paramount at home and at work. This need is what helps us to feel alive, and this is even more important at the moment.
All of the work done trying to connect people virtually is aimed at one thing – to help people feel they belong to a team and to help them function in a coherent way. Even though people can’t really ‘experience’ each other in the flesh but see one another on the screen, the sense of connection is still vitally important.
Can you find ways to connect with others? This could be in your neighbourhood, workplace, online, or even through a charity or organisation you support. We find it is really important to feel like you belong somewhere right now.
Thrive lesson 2: KNOW YOU ARE NEVER SEPARATE
You are not alone, even if you are physically. In the current climate, we need each other more than ever. With technology today and the endless amount of websites and platforms, we are all connected, ALL the time – even if you don’t feel it. We are connected through our devices, experience, emotions, and our thoughts. We are connected because we are human.
Know that and make the effort to acknowledge and enhance these connections, whether personal or professional, for leisure or learning. Acknowledge those around you; have long and deep conversations with them; be real; share what is going on for you and ask them how they are – truly listen to them.
Thrive lesson 3: BE PRESENT
What can we do with this massive change in our life? Many of us have had to learn new routines and patterns, and if you have no work at all (like me, initially) you learn how to not escape into busyness! Wrapped in the difficulty of all this is a precious gift – if you choose to unwrap it! And that gift is to be present. All the time!
- Slow down. Take a breath.
- Be right here, right now, and notice how you are feeling.
- Observe what you are saying to yourself to create that feeling.
- Then choose a different story (or at least realise you have been living your life on the story of a 0-7-year-old and decide if you want to keep doing it!)
Here you can visit my Youtube channel – amandagoretv – to get more detail on this.
For me, it was a totally new experience to be present, let alone be present in every moment!
Being present and aware of my feelings was the most difficult challenge! I had no idea that I had not really felt for most of my life.
Pre-COVID I was so busy and I usually felt overwhelmed most of the time. I was rarely home I found it so difficult to accept that I actually didn’t have a life – I had work. Would you believe I felt more ‘at home’ in airports and hotel rooms than I did at home?
Although it was not easy, the value of learning to feel and be present has transformed my life!
Being present means we don’t focus on the drama of the past or the fear of the future. By focusing on feeling calm and noticing what disrupts and causes stress is such freedom!
Thrive lesson 4: WORK ON YOURSELF
Show up! Show up as YOU! Find the real you, that amazing being that you really are. Be authentic to that, be real and vulnerable. When you have the courage to do the work and show up life gets easier – eventually!
Are you ready to take responsibility for yourself and your actions? By being conscious of any dissonance within you and asking yourself – are you being really honest with yourself?
Most of us know that low-grade feeling that something is not right, that sometimes subconscious fear that people will find out you are actually not up to the task, or that you are not good enough. Commonly known as imposter syndrome, this is rampant, but we rarely talk about it!
The first step to working on this is being compassionate and kind to yourself, even when you mess up. Because self-compassion and self-acceptance are one of the first steps to overcoming imposter syndrome.
Discover that your Stories are not YOU
It is liberating to discover that the stories you have been telling yourself are not who you are, but how they continue to rule your life. Observe your thinking. And anytime you are not feeling good about yourself, listen to the story you are telling yourself at that moment and question it!
Next, is to decide if you are authentically expressing how you really feel? As long as the environment you are in is a safe one and with people you trust – it is important to be vulnerable and connect heart to heart with others.
Sharing your experience and feelings with others gives them permission to do the same. It takes courage to be vulnerable, but the rewards are huge. As I have learned in the last year myself!
I believed I was being authentically me. In fact, it was one of my core values! However, what I have learned as I have worked ON myself is that I was ‘authentic’ to my persona! The version of me I had created to make sure no one realised how worthless I felt.
Thrive lesson 5: FIND THINGS FOR WHICH TO BE GRATEFUL
Be Grateful! Every morning, every night, and preferably every minute!
Gratitude needs no introduction. Oodles of studies show that feeling gratitude and choosing to be grateful changes your entire physiology. It is the master ‘re-framer’ and is able to change everything that happens to you or around you. If you choose to see things with gratitude, everything becomes valuable.
Gratitude is the practice of looking for the good in every situation. It is the practice of being thankful for what IS, not for what you want or think should be.
Are You Ready To Thrive?
So while the ‘WTF?!’ year from hell held within it a number of challenges, it also offered amazing opportunities for us to find ourselves and our real purpose in life.
I have and am SO grateful I embarked on this challenging but really rewarding experience.
And I can help you do the same!
With years of experience across a number of industries and a bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy majoring in psychology, I bring a unique perspective to help you THRIVE in these uncertain times.
From finding your unique message and building your confidence to helping you create the future you want, I will guide you every step of the way!
Zooties!
