“Keep Calm and Carry On” – but should you?

Nov 4, 2013

I loved seeing this message this summer – house décor, shirts, glasses – you name it.  There is one thing to be cautious of with affirmations like these, however.

Are you ever dealing with what is underneath it?

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You can chant this to yourself as you are enduring a situation which has you at your wits end but will you repeat the same lesson again and again?  Are you learning from it?  Are you dealing with the emotions that crop up?

I’m teaching a “Ladies Let’s Dream” seminar to speak about dreaming and goal setting and providing a specific method to accomplish them.  When you move in a direction towards what you want “stuff” can come up.  Your unconscious mind, the “goal getter”, is only too happy to find what you want but with that come the obstacles before achieving it and those must be addressed.  The bright side is an obstacle, even in the form of a negative emotion, means you’re one step closer to your goal.

Anger. Fear. Guilt. Sadness.  We all have it.  We all experience it but do we all deal with it?

Here are some tips in dealing with negative emotions as you move toward your goals:

  • Honor the emotion.  What I mean by that is let it come up.  If you feel sadness, acknowledge it.  Have a cry.  If an emotion comes up and it is not appropriate to express at that moment, then tell yourself a time where you will commit to acknowledging it and do it.
  • Examine it.  Is it real?  Will your worry, anger, sadness, guilt or change anything in the situation? Probably not.  If you think that it does have merit write down how you can take action to overcome the obstacle and do it.  That’s getting the “lesson”.  You let go of the emotion and retain the learning.
  • Share.  Often women feel that they are alone in what they are experiencing. Odds are there is someone else who has gone through it and has a tip or two to guide you in your own situation.  Why reinvent the wheel? (Note:  not many women carry a crystal ball with them these days so if you need help – ask for it.)
  • Go outside.  There is nothing like being outside, feeling yourself being grounded to the earth to put yourself back in perspective.
  • Focus on what you want.  Anxiety is a signal that you’re not.

Be well.

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