We are living in a time of division politically, socially, and above all in the middle of a global pandemic.
Many people are discussing these times as unprecedented and full of unpredictability, chaos, and uncertainty – however, I want you to consider for a moment a time in your experience when life was ever predictable. Can you think of one?
Even if your life has been routine and seemingly mundane, somehow, changes happen.
Can you remember a time when the world was completely peaceful or without uncertainty? Has your life ever been without change, whether it’s as small as the weather, your mood or an unexpected change in schedule. You simply cannot predict the unpredictable nature of life.
As the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only constant in life is change.”
This does not mean that you cannot feel the effects of uncertainty, particularly when it is magnified worldwide in the form of a global pandemic with all sorts of implications on health, life and travel restrictions not to mention a huge impact on the economy and ours. personal life.
But what you can do is gain control of your fear response to emerge from those feelings of uncertainty.
Fear is present in all of our lives now more than ever. With the 24/7 news and constant changes, we each deal with these events differently.
The best way to cope with fear is to realize that it is not the circumstances and events that dictate how your life will turn out, but rather how you handle those circumstances and events. How you decide to embrace that fear and uncertainty will determine your experience of it.
When people feel little control over what happens in their lives, they become increasingly vulnerable and emotionally and physically weak. It is a slippery slope towards a victim and feelings of doubt, anxiety, fear, and even complete panic.
Living in a state of constant fear can have a very detrimental impact on your life.
Practicing gratitude can help balance this fear of change. Gratitude allows you to reframe your perspective and instead focus on what is in your control. You can apply new meaning and purpose to your life by grounding yourself in gratitude and finding a sense of calm in the present moment.
Here are four ways gratitude can help fight your fears.
1. Gratitude takes power from fear
Practicing gratitude can act as an antidote to fear. Think about it, fear and gratitude cannot exist at the same moment, they are energetic opposites. You cannot feel pure gratitude and appreciation for something, and at the same time be afraid.
When you are afraid, you create a scary story about what you are worried about. It can be a story about what could happen, what other people will think or the mistakes you made. Fear is usually always accompanied by a worst case scenario that exists in an uncertain future.
When instead of practicing gratitude, you calm down and calm that story in your head by focusing on what is now in the present, instead of jumping ahead in a panic trying to come up with scenarios that are unlikely to happen in the future unpredictable.
2. Gratitude creates hope
Hope is a great side effect of practicing gratitude. When you are focusing your energy on what is going well, you create space for more hope. Instead of feeling despair and hopelessness, your attitude of gratitude keeps hope alive.
Hope is really important, especially when you are surrounded by scary things. It is a step to faith, and when you have faith you become aligned with the magic of the Universe.
3. Gratitude gives you courage to experience life in a meaningful way
When you are stuck in fear you tend to want to hide away from the world and not connect with other people. Your relationships suffer and you shut down emotionally. In contrast, expressing gratitude has a magical way of opening you up to experience life to the fullest. Gratitude helps you trust and connect with a deeper experience of life. In this way, I feel that gratitude gives you the courage to participate in life fully, even when things seem scary.
4. Gratitude calms and grounds you
When you’re afraid, your heart beats faster, your stress levels rise and your thoughts can be mindless and all over the place.
When you practice gratitude, you ground yourself in the present moment. Gratitude acts as a calming tonic for those chaotic thoughts, bringing you in touch with that place of inner stillness and balance. It allows you to center yourself and be present which is vital to your health and well-being.
When fear is a constant factor in your life and you feel really overwhelmed, try to develop a gratitude practice. It won’t make the fear disappear forever but it will give you the tools to manage your reaction to it.
Make it your choice to choose gratitude over fear every day.
