How to stay strong now
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We are living day by day in the midst of troubling world events.
We have been especially challenged for the last two years, and life always includes challenges. Now, the invasion in Ukraine fills us with deep pain and concern.
We need strength
Truthfully, we always need strength. We need strength to cope with challenges related to health matters, strained relationships, loss and grief, financial pressures, uncertainty, and a host of small daily issues that can knock us off course.
And in this moment, we especially need to find strength — for ourselves, for each other, and to send into the world to support people everywhere who are at risk.
How to find strength
When we are stressed, connecting to our strength may feel difficult. This process may help you:
1. Connect to your emotions.
When you slow down and identify what you are feeling, you have awareness of your current state. Rather than pushing these emotions down, allow yourself to name them and feel them.
(You may want to check out the article I wrote last week, where I shared great ways to give difficult emotions an outlet.)
2. Create calm.
Getting still and quiet allows you to breathe with intension and calm your system.
You may want to place your hands on your heart and imagine your heart breathing in love on each inhale. With each exhale, allow yourself to release tension, as you consciously relax your body.
(You can do this for as little as a single minute, you can quietly breath calmly for longer stretches, and you can pause and create calm multiple times in your day.)
3. Try using the Discovery Dozen™ exercise.
If you have my book, you are familiar with this great tool, that can be used in many ways.
The Discovery Dozen structure is simple. It begins with creating a fill-in-the-blank sentence. You then complete the sentence 12 times, each time with a different ending. The key is to write quickly and not edit yourself.
Try this one.
First jot down a challenging emotion you identified (or pick one, if several came up for you). Now you are ready to construct your Discovery Dozen sentence. Write it at the top of the page:
To find my strength in spite of feeling [your emotion], I ____________ .
Quickly complete that sentence 12 times. (You can number 1 through 12 down the side of the page to make it easy to write quickly without pausing to count.)
For example, your completed sentences might say:
To find my strength in spite of feeling fearful, I can remind myself of times I bravely stood up for myself.
To find my strength in spite of feeling fearful, I can remember I am not in danger right now.
To find my strength in spite of feeling fearful, I will find organizations to support, to help others.
You can make more Discovery Dozen sentences, to explore other dimensions of strength. Consider these possibilities:
I feel strong when _____________ .
When I feel strong I can/ I know/ _____________ .
To help others feel strong I can _____________ .
And feel free to make your own Discovery Dozen sentences, to both explore questions and generate ideas.
Couple strength with love
Strength takes many forms — some obvious, some bold, some subtle.
Your Discovery Dozen sentences may have illuminated many kinds of strength, that can be leveraged in many ways.
And when strength is matched with love, the impact can be astounding.
If we all support ourselves and each other with love and strength we can have more impact that you might imagine.
We can believe in the power of each person to hold, share, and send love.
We can commit to taking action — in many forms — rather than sitting by in distress. (One great idea is to make purchases of digital products from Ukrainian artists on Etsy, or tell them not to fulfill tangle product orders and keep the funds. Etsy is not charging Ukrainian artists service fees.)
We can hold the highest energetic vibration of love and send it to those in need of support anywhere on the globe, and those working to broker peace.
We can pray together, believing in the forces of love, light, and courage, and that this collective energetic force can impact the course of the conflict.
In these ways we can contribute to better outcomes, as we also support our own wellbeing.
When we stay strong and keep loving. we can help to create a better world.
