The world as we know it is changing, and, as with most change, there tends to be a time in the middle that feels messy and chaotic. During this time it is often hard to see the positive shifts that lie on the other side. When all you see is chaos, it can seem impossible to create the calm that is necessary for powerful change to occur.
Below are five tips to help you do just that.
1. Acknowledge and feel the feels.
Change often brings about a wide variety of emotions that can feel overwhelming and uncomfortable. While you may want to avoid them all together, the best thing you can do is accept, allow, and lean into them.
Your feelings are just visitors and they are part of the process that will get you to the other, better side of your current situation. As the saying goes, you have to feel it to heal it, and unless you acknowledge and feel your feelings, you’re not really healing them at all.
2. Honor what you need.
When the chaos of change hits, it can be all too easy to jump into survival mode and simply do what needs to be done. However, honoring what you need in the moment is critical to creating calm that will not only help you move through the current challenge but make the process a lot easier.
This is a time to be completely honest with yourself. What do you really need right now? Do you need a moment to breathe, a nap, a good meal, or something more? Identify what you need in the moment and do your best to honor it.
3. Lean into support.
Support is often the first thing to go when life gets chaotic, and while you may be tempted to pull back and isolate yourself—don’t. No one expects you to be a superhero and manage big or small life changes alone. In fact, these are the moments when support is needed the most, so don’t be afraid to lean in, reach out, and be open to receive the kind of support you need most right now.
4. Love yourself through the process.
Change isn’t always easy, even if it is necessary, and often it can bring with it bouts of self-criticism and frustration. Regardless of the kind of changes you are moving through, remember to give yourself copious amounts of self-love, acceptance, and grace.
You are a beautiful human being going through the school of life, and whether you know it or not, this moment is part of that process. Loving yourself completely through the chaos helps you get back to the calm that you need to get to the other side.
5. Find your joy.
When it feels like life is spiraling out of control, joy can feel like a luxury, but the truth is it’s a necessity. Finding your joy is not only possible during intense moments of change, but it’s often the critical piece many people don’t realize they are missing.
Life is never all one thing or another. It’s a mixed bag of joy, discomfort, bliss, transformation, change, and sometimes struggle. It is our job to find the joy amongst the chaos so we remember how good life still is, even when it feels hard.
At the end of the day, we are all in various stages of growth, change, and transformation. The process isn’t always easy, and we don’t always know how or when it will resolve. However, using the tips above is a surefire way to find more calm regardless of what life throws at you.
