“Every event in life can be causing only one of two things. Either it is good for you, or it’s bringing up what you need to look at in order to create good for you.” Deepak Chopra
No one wants to go through unexpected transitions, but we all will. Things must change because we are growing, evolving beings who are here to learn what lessons we need to reach our full potential. So it may not be all fun and games. But if have the desire, we can learn important lessons that will serve us well as we move through tough changes.
Let me start by briefly describing what my shambles was. I was laid-off, started a new career, mom diagnosed with Dementia, resigned my job to care for mom full-time, preparing my daughter to go off to college. It seemed as if everything was crumbling around me. When I take one step forward I ended up two steps back.
Here are 5 things I learned when my life was in a shambles
1. What is really important
When things are going well, we believe the big, external things in life are what matter. What kind of car we drive, what our job title is and how much money we have in the bank are all that seem to matter during our normal daily lives. But when “tragedy” strikes and we lose something we’re used to having, it helps us reassess what is really important in life. We shift our thinking and start doing those things that really make us happy.
2. That fear doesn’t need to hold you back
Often, we feel we have too much to lose to take a big risk and change something we desire to be different. But when it all falls apart, no matter how we try to keep it together, our greatest fears come true. We see that we really have much less to lose than we thought and that being delightfully happy is worth the risk. We can stop letting fear hold us back and take a plunge into what we’ve always really wanted.
3. Letting go of stuff is freeing
We hang onto stuff like it’s a life raft. It can be material things, people or situations that deep down we know are no longer making us happy, but we are scared to let it go. When Life forces our hand and we lose what we thought we couldn’t live without, we can finally feel free. Free from holding on so tightly that we focus all of our energy on holding on instead of re-evaluating if we really want it in the first place.
4. You don’t have to be perfect
We spend so much energy trying to be perfect every day of our lives. We beat ourselves up over the tiniest little flaw or mistake. All this struggling is exhausting! And ultimately, the best we can do is to pretend that everything is perfect in our world because we’re never going to get to a stage where everything is perfect. When you share your experiences with others whom you trust, you will start to see their masks come down too. You’ll hear about how imperfect their lives are, and yet see that they are still happy.
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff (it’s all small)
Life is short and we can either spend our time being happy or getting bent out of shape about everything that comes our way. If you have the choice (and you do), why not choose to be happy? This is going to require you to stop sweating the small stuff.
You can do this by using relaxation techniques such as massages, meditation and frequency music (check it out on YouTube) I’m sure you’ve heard it before but exercising regularly will help you get a handle on your emotions and allow you to better deal with the unexpected. Exercise is proven to reduce stress, which is a large reason why we may get emotional when we turn small stuff into major problems.
Does your life seem like it’s in a shambles now? Let me know how you’re dealing with it and if anything I shared resonates with you.
I’d love to know. Comment below.