Categories
Chaos / Upheaval Personal Growth

5 Ways to Experience Personal Growth Even in an Upheaval

When you’re in upheaval, you tend to hit survival mode pretty quickly. Your life becomes focused on just getting through the day. Beyond that? You don’t have the energy or the time to care.

Now more than ever, you need to take advantage of what time you have for personal growth. When we are challenged is where we rise to the occasion the best. During upheaval, our minds become busy, and we start thinking more. It’s a great time to take advantage of a mind made flexible by circumstances and learn something new.

In short, this is an excellent time for personal growth.

Furthermore, the act of bettering yourself gives you a focus, something you can control right now, at this moment, helping your mental state. It’s all about attitude and the idea you can keep growing, even now. How?

 

# You Learn to Embrace Adversity

There’s no doubt upheaval can make a mess of your life. But as you dig in and start looking for solutions, you’re going to discover something about yourself. Adversity brings out your best, forcing you out from complacency to find new solutions. With an open-minded attitude, you can even come to embrace adversity.

 

# You Become More Adept at Challenges

A crisis demands creative solutions. After all, if the status quo had been working, you wouldn’t be where you are now. In the long run, what this means if you’re going to get better at brainstorming and seeing solutions where you hadn’t previously.

 

# You Become Better at Seeing the Opportunity

Once you look past the disaster itself, you’re going to start seeing a chance to shine. There’s a great deal of opportunity in upheaval if you can maintain an openness to trying new things and adaptability when it comes to rolling with the punches. Developing this skill now means you’re never going to miss an opportunity again.

 

# You Cultivate Positivity

How can you possibly make it through a crisis if all you’re doing is focusing on the negative? If you can now discover the ability to find the positive and to keep an upbeat attitude even when things are going wrong, you’ll be able to stay positive no matter what life throws at you.

 

# You Develop More Empathy

You can’t go through these kinds of tough times without learning something about how hard life can be. By leveraging this into empathy, you’ll gain more compassion for those around you. 
Wow, this is a lot! Imagine the newer, stronger version of yourself developing even now. How exciting to think you’ll be coming out of this crisis more robust and better than ever before!

Looking for a coach to help you with personal growth? I can help! Check out my affordable coaching packages to help get you out of your moment of chaos and onto a clear path to getting things back on track to normal. Contact me today

Categories
Chaos / Upheaval Relationships

5 Things You Can Do to Help Your Child During an Upheaval

The world can be a daunting place, especially to a child. We work hard as parents to protect them from the big, bad, scary things. 
The problem is, much as we’d love to keep our children cocooned in a safe space where nothing can touch them, they tend to be every bit as aware of upheaval as you are, especially when the crisis is something is too large to hide. A child can’t help but be mindful of a natural disaster.

And as much as you try to hide it, they catch on pretty quick when something isn’t right in the home even if they don’t know the details of the pending divorce, the sick parent, or the lost job. 
So how do you help your child best during upheaval? Start by doing these five things:

# 1 Validate

Emotions are real, and there is no right or wrong in what your child is feeling right now. By reaching out to them and letting them know it’s ok for them to feel what they’re feeling, you help your child to feel heard.

 

# 2 Embrace Routine

During an upheaval, it’s hard to maintain your daily schedule. But children need routine now more than ever. Whatever is going on, try as hard as you can to keep as much normal as possible. For example, try to eat meals around the same time every day if you can. Or create a new routine suitable for current circumstances.

 

# 3 Communicate Appropriately

As mentioned before, kids know when things are wrong. Rather than going silent, be honest. Let them know what’s happening in a way that keeps in mind what’s appropriate for their age. Most important? Answer their questions.

 

# 4 Loosen Up

Play is a great way to ease tension. Even kids who might have felt like they were too old to play will love a chance to do something fun. Remember, you need to be sure to play with them, so grab a frisbee or pick up some crayons and get to it!

 

# 5 Breathe!

Teaching your child to meditate or do something calming, such as Tai Chi or Yoga, gives them the tools they need to calm down and return to the moment when they start to grow anxious or scared about what’s going on. Doing these activities with them does wonders for your mood as well.
If your child has become too aware of what’s going on, don’t despair. They’re a lot more resilient than you give them credit for. The biggest thing they need right now is to know your love is assured. Given time, the rest of these steps will help considerably. 
And of course, if your child needs a little extra help, don’t be afraid to take them to a counselor who is specially trained in helping a child make difficult transitions.  

Categories
Chaos / Upheaval

5 Things to Do Right Now if You’re Experiencing an Upheaval

Life is uncertain. One minute, you’re going along, doing what you always do, and the next, everything has come crashing to a halt. Now you’ve been left floundering, and everything in your life has become overwhelming. You’re experiencing chaos and upheaval, and you don’t know what to do.
Thankfully, there are several things you can do right now, which will help you gain a clearer head and a better ability to cope, regardless of the disaster. Try these quick tips to help you regain your equilibrium:

Put on the Brakes

When things leave you feeling you’re running in all directions at once, the last thing you need is added responsibility. It’s time to start protecting yourself by saying ‘no’ when asked to shoulder more. This is you taking control where you can.

Vary Your Day

It’s so easy to fall into doing whatever feels comfortable when you’re in upheaval. Let’s face it, you want comfort, and there’s something soothing in repetitious action like watching TV, snacking obsessively, or sleeping. Even good things, like working through your inbox, exercising, or cleaning the house, can become unhealthy if that’s all you’re doing. The goal here is to mix up your schedule. Only allow a set time for each activity before you need to switch to something else. 

Drop the Device

Speaking of obsessive, set the phone aside. You don’t need to keep checking social media or your text messages. Give yourself a break. More often than not, the feedback of others is only going to invite you to obsess about the crisis and not offer much in the way of solutions.

Be Kind

Attitude is everything. If you’re feeling the disaster, start looking for ways just to be more helpful to those around you. Doing this takes your focus off your negativity and builds positivity in someone else’s day, with the side benefit of raising your mood at the same time. 

Take Care of You

When you become disaster-focused, it’s very easy to neglect yourself. Now more than ever, you need to eat right and get enough sleep. Taking time for yourself will help you reduce some of the physical strain an upheaval can cause. Also, feeling better physically can lower anxiety and stress.

See Your Future

Grab a mental picture of where you want to be in the future. Hang onto this image. By reminding yourself you’re going to get through this and be able to accomplish your future goals, you’re acknowledging the current situation is temporary.
Unfortunately, not every upheaval can be solved. Most are out of your control from the moment they hit. On the other hand, you do still have the ability to control your actions and the steps you take afterward. By practicing these techniques, at the very least, you’re going to feel stronger and more confident about your next steps. It’s here where you’ll find peace of mind.
 
 Looking for a coach to help you with through a stressful and chaotic time in your life right now? I can help! Check out my affordable coaching packages to help get you out of your moment of chaos and onto a clear path to getting things back on track to normal. Contact me today.