There are times where a major life drama happens and you find yourself thinking, “how can this be”?!? Sometimes when in a highly stressful situation, you just wanna put on the brakes! Recently, one of these tumultuous life-shifting events happened to me. As a person used to practicing stress management, I was really pushed to put all of my rituals into place.
Now that I have had a chance to reflect, I am going to share with you the 3 questions that helped me to get through my recent life drama:
1. What is REALLY happening?
When dealing with a stressful situation, we tend not to be looking at the facts as they are. Instead, we start spiraling into the “what if” situations and thoughts. I remember once listening to Tony Robbins say, “Face it as it is, not better than it is or worse than it is”. That means, for example, if you are overweight, admit it and stop trying to convince yourself that you are a ‘big-boned’. Get a good perspective on what is happening in reality vs. what’s happening in your head.
2. What are the learning opportunities presented within this life drama?
Each life drama presents something to learn either an opportunity to progress, learn new skills or a reflection on how we could have done things differently. Usually stress comes with being thrown out of our comfort zone; but most of us need this to see any personal development anyway.
3. What is your support network?
This can refer to both physical and mental support. A life drama is often dealt with better if you have a daily meditation practice which can train you to be more present and therefore improve your perspective. Also, within our relationship circles, there is often someone who can be there to help…a pillar of sorts. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for support!
What are your next steps?
Sometimes, to get out of a life drama, we just need to get beyond today. For me, that involved just focusing on “what is the one goal for today?” and ignoring what ‘could be’ in a few weeks’ time. This way, I didn’t have to take on additional stress that may not be. I reminded myself of times of struggle that, when I look back on now, I realise I gained a lot as a result.
If you are reading this, the chance is you know by now ‘life dramas’ will happen to you again and the ability to look at it as an opportunity will be empowering.
Remember…. what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
