The 4 critical things you must do to have peace, happiness, health, and clarity in times of global crisis, stress and uncertainty
Apr 01, 2020
(By Eldad Ben-Moshe ✨ Reading Time: 7 minutes)
Loved ones ❤
While everyone is aware of the many problems the corona crisis is causing, it’s essential to pay attention to the gifts of the corona crisis as well.
One gift is that scary, stressful times such as these bring out the things you don’t want to deal with - but you need to.
Terrible as they may be in so many ways, these are great times to acknowledge 2 simple yet scary truths that your mind is programmed to bury and deny:
😨 You don’t control life;
😱 And you don’t know what’s going to happen.
It’s time we acknowledge these scary yet important truths and learn how to deal with them.
The way we live our life is based on assumptions.
From the assumption that things will stay more or less the same (‘I have work tomorrow’, ‘It’s my birthday in a week’, ‘i’m going to my yoga class in an hour’) to the assumption about your true identity and what’s real.
The truth is, you never know when a car - or a world pandemic - will hit you.
Now, of course, you already know this, but we bury this and act as if the opposite is true.
You live your life as if it’s inevitable that tomorrow will be as available to you as you’ve planned it: stores will be open, flights will happen, and social gatherings will be safe.
Why?
The reason you bury the knowledge that nothing is guaranteed to stay the same, and even deny it, is that it feels safe.
Looking at the uncertainty of life, at the big unknown that is your reality, can be terrifying and paralyzing.
This is one of the reasons that we want to have control -
over situations, over people, over life.
Striving for results can be healthy to an extent, but it also demonstrates a need for control at the same time and a belief that you know what’s good for you, what’s safe.
But the truth of it is that we don’t know what’s coming, and we can’t control much either.
Most things in life (and spiritually speaking - almost everything) are beyond your control.
It’s not necessarily a bad thing. We’re not all that smart. We don’t know what’s good for us most of the time, let alone for the world.
Once you acknowledge that you do not have perfect knowledge of past, future, and all the effects that anything creates, it’s pretty obvious.
But it’s scary.
Look at it this way:
- Your area of control:
Your mindset, your beliefs, your actions.
The way you react - or respond - to what happens.
What you do, where you live, what you read, your daily practices, the skills you learn, your wellness habits, etc.
This has to do with your inner state and your awareness of it.
Even your actions are a result of your internal state (Belief->Thought->Emotion->Action). - Your area of influence:
Your friends, your family, people you randomly meet on the street.
It has a lot to do with your relationships, including your relationships with people you’ve never met in person or don’t even know of their existence (people that read your email or blog post, watch your videos, read your book, etc.). - Area of no influence and no control:
In one word: Life. What’s happening in life is beyond your control.
You do not control the sun, the moon, the earth, your birth, etc. (again, spirituality aside, although spiritually you’re not your body and were not even born).
You do not control other people’s opinions and reactions, nor do you control the price of bread or the war in the middle east.
So you can call it “life stuff.”
Ironically, death too is part of the “life stuff,” as it is beyond your control.
You might be able to influence the timing and circumstances of it because of the choices you made in your area of control.
But death itself is beyond your influence. It will happen, no matter what.
As you can easily see, most things in life are absolutely out of your control, and even out of your influence. Even if you’re a big-shot CEO, Michael Jordan, Beyonce, or the president of the united states, most things in life are beyond your direct and immediate control.
Understanding that helps you acknowledge the truth of it instead of running away from it, burying it, and denying it.
And acknowledging it helps you deal with it, deal with the fact that almost everything in life is beyond your control and influence.
There’s a lot of power in acknowledging the truth, even when the truth is unpleasant. That does not mean you do not take action.
On the contrary, it is almost certain that the action you’ll make when you acknowledge the truth will be better than the action you’ll take when you’re ignoring or denying it.
Understanding and acknowledging that also helps you master your mind and focus on the right things.
✅Focus your time and energy on what you can control.
✅Give some time and energy to what you can influence.
⛔But don’t bother too much - or at all - with what is beyond your control and influence. The irony is that that’s where our mind goes to many times, automatically.
That’s just another reason why learning to master your mind, instead of being its servant, is so critical.
That does not mean that you shouldn’t care about worldly affairs.
If you’re a scientist working on a vaccine for the coronavirus, please do that.
But you’ll still have many other things in life which you cannot control.
Practical Actionable Steps - From Information to Transformation:
What does focusing on your area of control look like?
And how can you gain more peace, happiness, health, and clarity even in times of global crisis and uncertainty?
1. Develop your psychological and spiritual growth skills.
Be it meditation, yoga, the Enneagram, A Course in Miracles, morning ritual, etc., finding the paths for your spiritual and psychological growth is that one thing that will change your life.
When you find the right ones for you, I guarantee that they will change your life. It might be that they’ll just plant seeds now, or they’ll bring on the full thriving of your abilities and awareness.
The form does not matter. The change will happen.
2. Be vigilant of your thoughts.
Master and heal your mind. Pay special attention to any limiting belief and any thought of fear.
Everything you do in life is a choice between love and fear, and what you’ll choose will change your life.
While one can argue whether or not it will change what happens to you in life, it is guaranteed that it will change the way you experience life.
3. Be aware of your emotions.
Your emotions will tell you the truth about your conscious and unconscious thoughts and beliefs as they are their result:
Belief->Thought->Emotion->Action
4. Be mindful of what you consume.
From food (healthy food and clean water are so vital for having a healthy mind and body) to information, what you consume directly affects how you will feel, what you’ll believe, what you’ll think, what kind of person you’ll be, and what actions you’ll end up taking.
Yes, to a certain degree, staying informed about worldly affairs can be healthy. Just don’t overdo it. 1-2 times a day, at most, even in times of crisis, are more than enough.
Instead of getting addicted to news and binge-watching Netflix and tv, be mindful of what you consume.
Make sure to consume things that will help you grow, will help you develop psychological and spiritual skills that will lead you to the happier, better life you want and deserve.
For example, read my previous post where I shared 7 tips & 5 resources for overcoming your stress in a mindful, healthy way, or my post with 18 of my best tips for a happier, better life.
The good news?
Since you’re reading this article, I know you’re already on the right path.
Not because I’m so amazing, but because it tells me that you’re interested in improving your life.
It also proves that you’re choosing to spend your most valuable asset - your time - learning how to have a happier, better life. Keep up the excellent work, my friend.
Any day is a great day to take care of your growth, well-being, and happiness.
But times like these - times of crisis, change, and uncertainty - are the most critical times for you to do that because these are the times you need it the most.
Just like medicine is needed the most when you’re really sick, not when everything is great or mostly ok.
The tough times are the times when growing, rising to the challenge, and being ‘the best you’ that you can be is most helpful.
No, it’s not selfish. Remember your area of influence.
The way you are affects others and creates a change. You’ll be doing a huge favor to yourself, but also to anyone you know or cross paths with.
See for yourself: who would you rather hang out with - an inspiring, loving, well-balanced person who has a positive effect on you, or someone who’s done no work on themselves and is just dragging everyone down with him?
Doing the above simple, practical steps will lead to a life with more clarity, peace, health, and happiness, which will result in making better, healthier decisions for yourself (area of control), your family (area of influence), and your business.
Now is the best time to learn how to deal with changes, uncertainties, and the unknown. They are the real reason for your stress, fear, worries, and anxiety.
Final note: You can do this!
Choose the thing(s) that inspire you the most.
Don’t overdo it; keep it simple and joyful.
Take one baby step at a time.
Remember -
- Implement.
- Baby steps.
- Joyfully.
Done is better than perfect.
To your better life,
with tons of 💖
Eldad Ben-Moshe
Founder, Teacher, and Coach
Better Life Awareness Center
P.S.
Life is a journey of learning together, learning from each other.
You don’t have to do it alone.
Share your thoughts and questions with me by leaving your comments on this page or sending me a message via our chat icon or our contact us form.
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