STOP WITH THE "BUT...."
In the last week as I have connected with coaching clients and colleagues, I have noticed a common trajectory of our conversations. Each person starts out talking about the discomfort they are feeling. Their anxiety over the current state of the world. Their stresses, their challenges. And in each conversation there is a transition from this to…..BUT, I should be grateful. BU, at least I should be thankful…. I am here to say, “let’s stop the BUT!”
We are anxious, we are stressed, we are afraid AND we are grateful. It is so important to honor your feelings. It is okay to be anxious and stressed and afraid even if you have the good fortune of being healthy, housed and fed. Your feelings are no less valid. You are feeling them. Just because you honor your feelings does not make you less grateful you are not experiencing worse things.
This is such an important point in managing through this time. If you pass over your anxiety – as it is not worthy of being noticed, you are doing yourself a disservice because the feelings are still there. The only way to really deal with them is to notice them, acknowledge them, sit with them and then allow yourself to move forward.
Recognizing that others are suffering is not mutually exclusive to honoring your own anxiety. Own it. Doing so will give you the energy, renewal and mind space that allows you to then have compassion, empathy and sympathy for what others are feeling as well.
Share with others - what are you anxious about AND what are you grateful for?
