How do you show self-leadership during hard times? Leadership doesn’t mean you have to lead others. It’s managing your emotional state and making a positive change. Which is what’s needed during times of uncertainty.
Calm Down
When you’re calm you’re able to think clearly. When you think clearly you can see the best way forward. Pain is inevitable. It’s a natural part of life. Suffering comes from rejecting the reality of the pain. What we resist persists. What we befriend we can transcend. Staying calm helps you to focus on what you can do. Rather than on what you can’t. What’s wrong is always there. So is what’s right.
Change Your Point of View
You want to be a hunter of the good. Seek it out as if you were looking for gold. Learn how to focus on the doughnut, not the hole. It’s not what happens that matter as much as how we react to it. And that reaction is our choice. Seeing the positive doesn’t mean ignoring the bad. It’s just not your primary focus. Most people have focused on the bad anyway. To lead yourself you have to go against popular opinion and see things differently. Every experience is a good experience when treated as an opportunity for self-mastery.
Most of how you feel is determined by your self-talk. How are you framing situations in your mind? You can change how you see things by asking yourself empowering questions.
- What’s the opportunity in this?
- What can I learn from this?
- How can I use this experience to my advantage?
These questions need positive answers that allow you to get the most out of every situation. They keep your mind focused and focused on the future. They allow you to grow and learn.
You’re More Than A Tree
If you’re feeling down, overwhelmed and off-centre you could take a walk. And you come across a tree that you decide to talk to. After talking to the tree and getting things off your chest, you feel better. But you’re more than a tree. You can listen, respond and challenge people. What does this all mean?
Your presence has a positive effect. Even without saying anything or having the solution to a problem. Panic, fear and hopelessness are contagious. Optimism, calmness and courage are infectious. People feed off your energy and mood. But who affects you the most? You do. So that’s the place to start.
When we’re in a strong state we’re more likely to make the best decision. Master your emotional state and you master your life. The mind can’t tell the difference between something imagined and something real. If you act like you’re in a peak state, you’ll end up in a peak state. Even if you don’t initially feel like it. Talk to yourself positively and act as if you are the person that you want to be. See yourself as a positive, confident and strong person. Act as if you are that person. Don’t fake it until you make it, embody it until you become it.
Zen Transformation Coach 