Yes2Leadership

2018 is here. But I don’t hear the usual fresh start and hopeful optimism I’m used to hearing when a new year begins. Instead, people seem concerned and I hear palpable fear in their voices.

It doesn’t surprise me. I sense the concern, too.

Obviously, no one wants a bad year, right? Everyone longs for and deserves peace of mind. So why so much stress? Partly because bad news literally keeps coming at us in a steady stream, day after day, seemingly minute by minute. Little by little, we feel the accumulation of the provocations taking their toll on us physically, emotionally and spiritually.

If you’re like me, whether you hear about an illness of a close friend; receive a feared text message you hoped would go another way; see a news alert about a tragedy or accusation; or learn of a disaster somewhere in the world—your heart beats like crazy, you feel absolutely helpless (or maybe get angry) and you start to feel the pain and anxiety of fear.

Do you want to know a little secret? It doesn’t have to be this way. And it doesn’t make any sense to allow it.

There is something helpful you can do in 2018.

It’s something we can collectively do, too.

Add These Three Steps To Your Daily Life

1.  Be present.
In this exact moment, ask yourself: “how am I doing right now, this very second?” Often (always?!), it’s the anxiety over what has already passed or the fear of what might happen in the future that pains us. Go ahead, pinch yourself, because in many ways, you’re actually living the dream. Take that in.

2.  Turn it off.
For just five minutes, practice choosing not to be distracted, over stimulated, and nearly tortured with data and negative information. Turn off the sound, turn off the vibration, turn off the beep, everything—off. For FIVE minutes. When you notice the world keeps spinning, birds keep singing, and the lights are still on, take note.

3.  Be love.
I know, I know, who can be love to so and so when they’re so awful, so disgraceful, and so absolutely wrong (because they don’t agree with you). How can you be love under those circumstances, right? Well, actually, you can. And you might consider trying it, because when you’re feeling all those thoughts surging through your veins, it hurts no one but you (well, and maybe the people around you). Being love feels better. Being love is contagious. Being love is ultimately irresistible. Besides, hate heals nothing. Never has.

When you commit to these actions, I promise you two things will happen.

1. You’ll find it’s incredibly simple.

2. You’ll discover it’s also going to be hard as hell.

Are you willing to commit to your well-being?

My wish for you is that you discover the power in this new way of being and it helps you stay grounded and free—whatever comes your way.

All the best in 2018.