Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan right? You know those times when you think you have the script clearly written out and for some reason the other actors in your movie don’t seem to be following the script?
What’s going on?? Why don’t you follow my script??
Life will throw some challenges at you.
Each challenge is the space where you get to either contract or grow. That is we either choose to be a victim or we choose to be empowered.
If you choose to be a victim, it will be a long drawn out experience that could last days, weeks or even years! It will be filled with lots of friction, poor health and deteriorated relationships. If you see it as an opportunity to grow, you will pass through it quickly and come through the other side lighter and happier.
If you choose to be empowered, you will discover the challenge is an opportunity, one that is rich in knowledge. Coming to this realisation is the biggest hurdle. Once you overcome that big obstacle, and look for the nuggets of gold in the experience, you’ll go from seeker to finder.
Getting through those times requires embracing a few steps or strategies. I’ve put together 6 things that I do when life isn’t quite unfolding how I expected it to. If things are tough at the moment, try these out, you’ll find it will flow more with less friction.
Here they are:
- Pause. This sounds simple but pushing, fighting and struggling harder isn’t the way through. Pause. Sit and take a moment to just be. Instead of chasing life, allow some space so that life will FLOW towards you. When I am forcing things, I always remind myself, create a space and let it flow towards me.
- Work Out. Yep, channeling any frustration, excess energy like anger, agitation, or fear into a seriously good sweat and work out is a huge release. This exertion will do wonders for clearing pent up energy. Not only that it transforms dark energy into something more positive and lighter.
- Seek guidance. Somewhere in your life, there will be people that will be able to see things from a different perspective than you. When we are deep in the turmoil of our own situation, often it is hard to see the wood through the trees.
There’s a saying, ‘when the student is ready, the teacher will come’.
Be open to receiving guidance from someone who might offer some support and a different perspective. Is it your Mum, your Dad, your best friend, a coach or counsellor or a meditation teacher? You will find someone when you are ready for assistance.
- Read. I have a huge library of books that I have drawn upon over many years to support me on my path. The words in these books hold wisdom and guidance that has been invaluable to me. People like Dan Millman, Eckart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Emmanuel, Marianne Williamson and Neale Donald Walsch (among many others) have all played a big part in helping me through difficult times. Here is my blog where I recommend 10 books.
- Meditate. One sanctuary I always come back to is stillness. Amid all the fluctuations and challenges of life I have always found one constant…STILLNESS. The gateway to stillness is meditation. Meditation is my foundation that I build my life on. It’s in meditation that I am able to cut through those ups and downs of life and experience a freedom in the stillness.
There is a sanskrit word “nivartatvum”, which means ‘transcend where you are’.
Go to the stillness and find peace there.
- Be Mindful. Mindfulness is being aware of your thinking process. Ask yourself questions, look at the way your mind works, are those thoughts serving you? What is the nature of your thoughts?
Mindfulness involves deep introspection into the nature of your thoughts and actions. Often we run on autopilot not even aware that we are thinking or acting in a certain way.
Being mindful requires you to observe YOU, observe the things you do and the way you think, assessing if that is still serving your best interests.
Life will throw some curly ones at you. No doubt about it. But you can pass through these times and come out the other side elevated, wiser and lighter. These steps will help you. You may have some other suggestions which we’d love to hear. So feel free to share them with us below.
In the meantime if you feel you could use more stillness in your life, check out my Deep Meditation program here. Once you’ve joined the program you can start within minutes. Doesn’t matter where you are in the world, it’s an online program that you can access and start practising straight away.
