fortune-telling and crystal balls
As I write this, several states in this country are watching and awaiting primary election results (including mine).
What a wondrous and fearful thing it can be to have choices!
Whether a choice is related to one's career, where to live, who to vote for, what to say to a neighbor, or whether to go to bed early or stay up for one more show, there is always some choice you are making in every moment of life (and most often many choices operating simultaneously).
When it comes to choice, it can be hard to sort through not only the options available and the "logical" advantages or disadvantages of each, but the emotional underpinnings and influences.
While fear (and desire to avoid painful outcomes) can be a powerful influencer, it is not a truthful one.
I've found myself recently repeating phrases like, "While your fear is completely valid and understandable, please remember it is not a crystal ball."
Fear tells us about the past - it is not an honest fortune-teller of the future. When fear begins to intercede in our reasoning, it can not only cloud our clear thinking, it can quickly undermine our vision, values, and hopes for the future. And it can be downright sneaky about it, too, operating in costumes that are extremely convincing (yes, even deceptive), such that we don't even realize the distraction.
How can you protect yourself against this?
While there are many tips and strategies for understanding and working effectively with your emotions, a strong foundation includes:
Tune into your emotions through the sensations in your body. Learn to recognize your own "tells" and the clues that inform all the nuances and specifics of what you are feeling so that when fear does make an appearance, it is more easily recognizable.
Connect to a strong vision of what motivates and matters to you. When you know your destination, it is much easier to navigate toward it. To this end, give yourself time and space to practice through visualization, writing, drawing, or other creative outlets so that your map becomes more and more detailed.
When you use these two strategies on repeat, you will increasingly strengthen your efficiency and resilience to compare the available choices to your desired goals and vision, hold hope for the possibilities, and recognize the influence of fear when it tries to (or succeeds in) temporarily hijacking the ship.
While this may be only one piece of the greater process of protecting your well-being so you can continue to show up with your best impact, building these practices in regularly can also help you model and co-regulate with others who may be susceptible to the influences of fear being spread and perpetuated so prolifically.
In service to you, because... You matter. You can make a difference. I'm so thankful you're here.
