Like
we need the vaccine to protect us from the virus, we need to learn ways to immunize
ourselves from our inner emotional turmoil.
The
prolonged and seemingly unending nature of the disruption and losses caused due
to ongoing Pandemic makes us routinely feel disoriented, anxious and exhausted.
We
need to Cultivate sense of Equanimity – We need to develop and practice stillness
within us so the changing external scenario doesn’t easily affect us. This
doesn’t mean that we are not affected at all. It’s just that we need to
raise the threshold at which we experience emotional hijack.
Building
equanimity requires deepening our emotional self-awareness. We need to learn
what makes us happy, sad, insecure and excited; how frequently we move from one
emotional state to the other; and what triggers these shifts. Ordinarily, we
are on an autopilot mode where certain triggers produce a predictable reaction
within us time after time.
When
we are in touch with our changing emotional states, we can quickly catch
ourselves starting to feel anxious, envious or angry. We can then choose to
acknowledge those emotions and without judging ourselves, explore alternate
ways to respond. That’s how we can break the pattern of our emotional
reactions.
We
need to learn to deal with unexpected outcomes:
One of the major reasons
we experience emotional stress is our attachment to specific outcomes. For
example, I should get promoted this year, I will get possession of my recently
booked flat this year and many other such expectations.
The
problem is that we associate so closely with the desired/expected outcome and in
case, there is any deviation, it causes anxiety.
The
way to deal with this is to open our heart and be flexible to accept any possible
outcome of whatever may emerge. Whether that promotion happens this year or the
next; whether we get the possession this year or the next, we need to accept
the natural process of evolution rather than get stuck to fixed outcomes.
Our
ability to deal with Setbacks:
We fear and hate setbacks. We shouldn’t underestimate our innate ability to
deal with setbacks. We must be more resilient than we often believe.
We
can protect ourselves against this fear by learning to reframe our relationship
with difficult circumstances.
Almost nothing is as good or as bad, as it seems. Also, we can choose to assess
what the situation is trying to teach us. In fact, invariably, it’s in
such situations that we learn and grow the most.
We
simply need to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable.
If we
can practice these in our real life, we can be assured that our vaccination is
effective and our immunity on emotional turbulence is in action!
If we
have cultivated our mental strength to control our emotions, then we will
realize that our existence should matter, it must have value, worth and
importance for us and society.
Having
reached this milestone, it’s time to find our Purpose of Life and
achieve the same.
