Focus on what matters

For the past two years, many of us have had to cope with deep uncertainty, unsure when – or if – life will ever go back to normal given the global pandemic. Local, national, regional and global economies continue to be unstable – the volatility of the price of oil is one important metric, especially in this part of the world - and this spikes anxiety that complicated things for key decision makers at a majority of businesses. Our brains – despite centuries of evolution – have been wired to worry, especially about situations that pose a threat to our overall well-being. Long-term worry tends to have both physical - as they alter our brain chemicals – and mental ramifications. Uncertainty and change – whether good or bad – make people rather uneasy. It is important to be mindful and aware of matters that make us tick and how to manage them appropriately.?

One of the ways that can help rewire our brains and decrease our worry is to focus on the ‘now’. Don’t look too far ahead (or behind) because this creates a spiral of unnecessary scenarios that may never even happen. The past is a memory that no longer exists and the future is merely an illusion that isn’t certain to take place. Although it is important to learn from our past and to be prepared for the future, excessive thinking and being hyper fixated can be damaging – the only thing that is truly in our power is to control the ‘now’. Draw a line in the sand when our worry is doing us more bad than good.

Keep yourself busy to help train your brain to live in the ‘now’. Immersing yourself in tasks that need to be completed in the short-term helps you to block out external thoughts that could lead you to worry about other matters. Manual tasks with your hands – especially if they are repetitive - can have a hypnotic effect on the brain - and are the most effective and comforting ways of dealing with anxiety and panic.

One of the most effective ways to handle uncertainty is to try to get comfortable with it – embrace the unknown. If you can’t change a situation, there is nothing else you can possibly do other than to let it unfold the way it has to. If it is something within your control, take the steps you need to take to regain command and - in the grand scheme of things - life nearly always plays out in the way it should.

There are a lot of things we can’t control, like the weather or the traffic, but we can control the thoughts we have towards those factors that are outside of our control. We can control what we allow to faze us, who we allow into our lives, our interactions: once we start focusing on the things we can control, you’ll notice yourself being less concerned about the things that you can’t.