How can we take care of our emotional well being when there is so much to be worried about? There is the swine flu alarm, the economic slow down and the always present threat of terrorism just to mention three major external factors. Additionally, we all have to deal with what ever is going on in our personal lives. When there is so much stress it is easy to feel internally out of control.
How to regain control?
We have to remind ourselves that the only person we truly have control over is ourselves. When we are worried and pulled in all directions we tend to forget that and instead operate like we are on automatic pilot. We become reactors rather than actors.
Step #1 Ask yourself: right now what can I do that I know is in my control.
The answer will pull you back into the present and become an action step. It may be as simple as going for a walk, taking 10 minutes to read an article you have been meaning to read, emptying the dishwasher etc. Whatever it is you will have made the decision which is the first step of feeling in charge again.
Step#2 To become an actor rather than being a reactor takes conscious awareness to remind ourselves that we do have control of ourselves. It is by changing our inner attitudes that we change the outside aspects of our lives.
