The election heat is now on and you have already started the journey of wasting your precious time in talking about it and debating on conflicting views and hurting yourself and others too. Be wise, the majority will decide who the better candidate is and vote him in. You can make your decision too but the life has to go on. Whoever who come into power, it’s your capacity and application that makes you win.
I have repeatedly been saying that the world is becoming a harder place to work and live. We have no escape and that we can only control the way we react to challenges that are beyond the control of professionals. We are not insulated from any of the global issues – we are inundated with an unlimited flaw of such negative news every day.
From a local perspective, you have been hearing about a string of unexpected economic and non-economic issues. If you are like most other people, you are probably spending more time worrying about the recent developments having a direct or indirect impact on your life.
Worry
You must be highly worried about the poor consumption in the market and its implications on your business, consequent inflationary issues, job security, escalation of electricity cost, human rights issue, rising taxes, future of your children, even the weather – it has been terrible, hasn’t it been? Some things we can control, others we clearly cannot. Let politics take its course – you take control of you.
One of the key things you must practice when managing such uncertainty, ambiguity and anxiety is to understand the issue in context and deciding if it is something you can do something about. It’s inevitable that any issue regardless of whether they are related or otherwise you tend to worry- that’s natural human behaviour so let it be. But the important factor is that your life has to go on.
You still need to achieve your goals in life - to do this you got to navigate these challenges with a single focus in mind. So how can you do it? Correct understanding of the issue is vital to distinguish between what is impacting you and what is not – and decide what you can control and what you can’t.
The ability to turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts is a must to deal with any challenge. I know this idea sounds simplistic, but practicing this technique is hard. When effectively practiced, it can alleviate a great deal of unnecessary anxiety and stress. We have a fair share of our own personal problems and we end up spending a lot of time and energy to resolve them.
The worst thing that can happen to us is spending time and energy on issues we cannot control no matter if these issues have an impact on you or not. If you cannot control just be aware and align yourself - that is the most sensible thing to do.
Easy to say, HARD TO DO! Our passion for our work makes it more difficult to worry selectively. Why? The more passionate you are, the more protective and perfection-driven you become. Any concern becomes exaggerated just based on your optimistic vision being obstructed. Regardless of whether or not you have influence, you will want to tackle every problem as it emerges. This tendency is dangerous.
Your energy becomes fractured as you start to obsess over details and situations that are beyond your control. Ultimately, your ideas and plans suffer. It’s said that generally 90 percent of the things people worry about are beyond their control. You can do your own assessment and figure out what your own percentage is. You may be surprised with your own realisation. The key to maintaining a positive attitude in life is to know the difference.
Positive self talk
How many times have you been stuck in traffic, being in queues at the government institutions? You began to feel angry, stressed and uncomfortably over anxious? Probably more times than you care to think about, but some of these are things you have no control over, so lighten up, take some deep breaths, and tell yourself, “I am in control over my feelings, and I will not let this situation beat me down. I am in charge of how I feel. I am calm and relaxed.”
This will take practice obviously, but once you start to get this, it will make a world of difference. When you think about how much damage these unnecessary stressful situations harm our bodies, raise our blood pressure, increase frown winkles, ruin our day, it is not worth it, and it is a battle you want to take on with positive self talk. Spend your thoughts on things you can control and think thoughts that bring a smile to your face, rather than an ugly frown.