COPING WITH FEAR

"Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop." 

~Usman B. Asif ~

It's easy to catastrophize in our minds about what might be happening when we don't have access to immediate answers and reassurances- when someone we're waiting for is late, or when someone who usually returns texts right away suddenly doesn't. We think about all kinds of unlikely crises, plan our response accordingly, and become as ready as we can psychologically to deal with the potential ensuing disaster.
     And then, nine times out of ten, the situation resolves itself and all is well. And our catastrophizing ended up just being a way to deal with our fear. It would be preferable though, to not be so fearful in the first place, to remain calm as a matter of course, and to patiently wait and see.

I catch myself catastrophizing in my mind and stop. I decide to let things unfold as they will  without my projection, or my runaway fear.

SELF-IMPOSED LIMITATIONS

"Larger voices calling." 

~ Crosby, Stills, and Nash ~

According to a Nielsen survey, average Americans watch 34 hours of television a week- between 4 and 5 hours a day, and this number increases as we get older. The implications of this are bothersome at best: so much lost productivity and wasted life! We whine and complain about not having enough time and the lack of fulfillment and happiness that we feel in our lives... it's no wonder!
     Let's get honest and brave and look at our television habits and realize that if we made some adjustments, there are hours to claim for ourselves in the pursuit of a greater calling. We could get an online masters degree in the time we sit vegetating in front of the screen, or write a book, or design a building, or learn a new craft. The options are unlimited, as is our potential.
     After an hour or so of relaxation, what real benefit to our life is so much daily TV?

I limit the amount of time I sit in front of the television and follow my dreams instead.

CONSISTENCY OVER TIME

"Good habits are safer than rules; you don't have to watch them. 
And you don't have to keep them. They keep you." 

~Frank Crane ~

Consistency is the answer to so much that we struggle with in life. We tend to be flippant and sporadic in our pursuit of wellness. We do something good for ourselves, feel better, and promptly stop. We go back to our old habits like a bowling ball tracked for the gutter. But we needn't!
     We can engage self-discipline to keep us going with positive action for long enough to form a new habit, which is a matter of months, or less if we're lucky, but then we have to steady on and steady forth. We give up on ourselves so easily. Let's not! Let's do the next right thing for more than just a day or a week or a month. Let's make it a lifestyle, and if we do that, we will reap benefits beyond our wildest dreams.

I am accountable to myself.

THE POWER OF MANY TOGETHER

"We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us to our fellow man." 

~ Herman Melville ~

As individuals, we are limited. We can only do so much and produce so much as one person, but the power of community and networking is unlimited. We are so much more collectively, and collaborating, than we can ever be alone.

I celebrate my participation in community. It broadens my perspective and enlarges my life.

THE HYPNOTIC ROAD

"Whatever you resist will persist." 

~ Carl Jung ~

Staying awake in the afternoon on my long ride home from work is a challenge. The road is so hypnotic beneath the tires and the car so comfortable. I am lulled into sleepiness and my eyelids droop. There is no easy way to resist this pull when it happens. Loud music and wide open windows may work temporarily, but the best thing to do is generally to pull over and give in. It only takes a few minutes with my eyes closed to completely refresh.
     Nonetheless, most of us, in similar life situations, would sooner fight it any way we can and insist on our will over the power of Nature. But no matter how we may fight it, no matter what we may do to counteract what's happening, Nature always wins in the end.

I stop fighting what I cannot over-power and succumb to whatever must be. 

REAL LIFE COMMUNICATION

"All the windows of my heart I open to the day." 

~ John Greenleaf Whittier ~

Open sharing is preferable to guarded sharing, or sharing with self-consciousness, or sharing with any kind of agenda attached. It's better for the one doing the sharing and the one listening as well. It allows both parties to fully relax in the context of being human, and to enjoy together the adventure of real-life experience complete with all kinds of error and mis-emotion mixed up and intertwined with endless love and hope.

I share openly and freely. I have nothing to hide.

FRESH STARTS

"I get wildly enthusiastic about little things."  

~ Leo Buscaglia ~

Change is powerful medicine. It lights a fire in our souls that sends sparks to our hearts and minds. We are refreshed with possibility and invigorated by the adventure of all that is new.

I welcome the energy of fresh starts into my life.