Transcript:
Hey everybody, Gail Kraft here from the Empowering Process Podcast and welcome as we talk about Purpose, Power and being Present. And today we’re actually going to talk about remaining present in the midst of chaos.
Before we do that, I would like to take a moment and let’s define chaos.
What is that feeling of chaos, turmoil, disconnect that we experience from time to time and how that really is change that is happening. You cannot have change unless there is a little bit of chaos.
Sometimes a lot of chaos also.
There might be expectations that you have set forth that are not being met, or you might have a plan, or a vision, or direction, and things seem to be going a little wonky and therefore, you’re feeling dis-ease a little bit uncomfortable.
It may be a little lot uncomfortable.
So, chaos means change is happening.
What we want to do is to be present first of all, recognize that change is a constant.
It’s going to happen whether you plan it or whether it plans for you. It is going to happen to you, or you are going to make it happen.
Sometimes a little bit of both in your life.
It is a fact, and many times if you’re not prepared, and you find yourself kind of lost, you have a hard time navigating. So, we’re going to talk about being present in the midst of chaos, and we’re going to talk about a couple of ways to do it that can maybe help you.
The first thing is Breathe, and I know that you hear this probably time and time again, but breath is so centering if it is done in a way that helps you take a moment.
Follow me just a little bit.
Stand with your feet apart, shoulder length apart. Put your shoulders back.
I kind of squeezed the little shoulder blades a little bit, and you’ve just opened up your body.
Now lift your chin up.
You cannot be in a state of panic.
You cannot be crying.
You cannot be sad when you’re doing this, you feel differently.
Chin up, shoulders back, feet apart, and then breathe into your abdomen.
Maybe to the count of three.
Hold it for a moment and then exhale.
To the count of seven.
Yeah, inhale again to the count of three.
Hover for a moment, then exhale to the count of seven.
And as you do this, you start to slow down those nerves.
So, first thing, breathe, no matter what process you decide to do in your life, start off with breathing OK?
Then next, is to ask yourself questions.
So, what exactly is changing?
Is it a change that I wanted in the 1st place and is this chaos something I wasn’t prepared for?
Or is this more than I thought it would be?
Or it’s exactly what I thought it would be, but I still don’t like it, right?
If it is something that you planned for, figure out what to do during this process, because man if you plan for it, you should have also planned for the disruption that any change is going to cause.
If it is something that you didn’t plan for, if change, chaos, is happening to you, you still need to take a breath and step back and say “how does my life change now and how can I adjust in order to get what it is that I want out of life, live the way that I want to live in life, to be the type of person I want to be in life?
What do I need to do to still show up the way that I want to show up regardless of what’s happening around me?”
Stand with your shoulders back, your feet, shoulder length apart.
Shoulders back deep breath and ask yourself question after question after question what exactly is happening? Is what’s happening, this chaos, really so important in my life?
Am I feeling anger, sadness, shame, guilt?
Am I?
What am I feeling because of this?
Because of this and this feeling that I am having, is it blown out of proportion or is it in proportion?
Even change that we want has a little bit of fear because any change creates the unknown.
You have to fear the unknown because it’s unknown, but you can change that fear into excitement.
So, ask yourself some questions.
What is going on?
How does that really affect me?
Can I step away from it?
Can I adjust to it?
How long do I have to navigate through this?
Because this too shall pass.
It’s a fact, so believe it’s a fact.
Stand up straight and tall, breathe.
And ask yourself a whole bunch of questions and the third thing I’d like to talk to you about is something that is one of my favorites.
My clients, if you work with me, I’m going to talk to you about planning, it’s if you were in business it’s called risk mitigation planning.
You want to take a look at where you’re going in life and if you’re not looking at where you go in your life, your life is going to take you where it wants to go, and you’re going to experience a lot of chaos.
A lot of disruption because you’re not going to have any control, you’re not going to be making any conscious choices of where to go.
Where is it that you see yourself, let’s say in five years?
And I know that that’s a question that some people get tired of hearing, but where do you see yourself?
OK in 12 months?
Where do you see yourself in 12 days?
Where do you see yourself as far out as you can project?
Maybe even tomorrow, 12 hours?
But where do you see yourself?
And, getting from here to there requires that you make choices and navigate through your life.
Now if you are making choices, follow me here right, and you’re planning those choices.
I’m going to grow my business.
I’m going to grow my family.
I’m going to take trips.
I’m going to retire.
I’m going to.
I’m going to.
I’m going to.
When I do that, this is what I’m going to be doing.
How do I set up the systems in place so that I can do this with ease and grace?
Who are the people I need to call in, what technology or processes do I now need?
What’s the support system that’s going to be required to be in place for me to do this?
All of those questions?
And then, what if one of them breaks?
What if one of them fails?
How am I going to respond?
So, you start planning for the potential and, I’m not saying projecting fear and doomsday, I’m saying look at the potential of something breaking.
If the odds of it breaking are more than 50%, then how am I going to react? Figure it out; what if “A” happens then I can do “B,” “C,” or “D” right?
Think about it, plan it and then move on to the next potential failure. Why do I say do this? Because if you plan for potential issues, you learn how to respond.
First of all, to the stress.
Second of all, when something unexpected happens, you have just spent time training yourself to respond to unexpected situations, and so here’s one that you didn’t plan for, but you know how to sit back and plan, and therefore…
You stand up straight and tall.
You take a breath or two.
And you ask yourself a bunch of questions and you make a plan.
You see how these all kind of work together funny about that, right?
So how do you remain present in the midst of chaos?
Part of it is planning.
Part of it is breathing and take control of your body, which relaxes your emotions.
And part of it is to ask yourself questions.
How important is this to me?
Does this really hit my core values if it doesn’t hit your top core values?
Then how important is it?
Can I let it go?
How do I ride through this storm?
How do I get in the boat and let the current take me?
So again.
There are ways to remain present in the midst of chaos.
I was thrilled to share this with you. If this brought something up for you, please by all means comment. I’d love to hear it, discuss it in and, you know, place it in an ask me anything segment.
So, comment below if this inspired you and you know someone who it also may inspire. Please feel free to share it out and if you loved it, please like it, let me know and I’ll do some more and Ask Me Anything is coming up soon again.
Gail Kraft, The Empowering Process Podcast. It’s been a pleasure talking with you.
Talk to you again soon.
Take care.
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