There are periods in our lives where everything seems to be clicking and in alignment with our goals or our purpose. Then there are those other periods of time . . . This seemingly never-ending pandemic reminded me of one of those times in my life when everything seemed to be progressing in the direction I wanted my life to go and then it took a 180 turn. Overnight it seemed, all parts of my life seemed to derailed and I had no idea how to put my life back on track or what track I even wanted it on. So what did I do? Did I attend a retreat to give myself space? Did I do some grand visioning exercise? All good ideas, but no. I went to the Container Store. I drove myself to the Container Store and bought myself an organizer for my sock drawer. I drove home and dumped all my socks onto the floor, inserted the organizer into the drawer and put each sock pair into its place. It felt glorious! My life was completely out of my control. It didn’t feel like I could control anything in my life. It felt that way, and I know now that it wasn’t true, but at the time it felt 100% out of control. But then I identified one tiny part that I could control, my sock drawer. Having that sense of control over something, no matter how tiny, helped right my ship at least 1%. That brings us to now. This 2-year pandemic keeps throwing us curve balls. We keep thinking we are going to get back to some sense of control, only for the virus to show us how little control we have.
- You might be worried about the stability of your business
- Your business might be stable, but you are worried about finding talent
- You might be looking for a new job
- You might be trying to juggle career and kids within a global pandemic where you aren’t sure day to day what is going to impact that day
- You might be experiencing health complications
- You might be re-evaluating everything you thought you wanted in your career
All of these things can make us feel like our life is out of control. And it is true, we cannot control many things about our external world. No matter how much we try, we are not General Managers of the Universe. Given that, there always are things that we can control and I’m not limiting that to the organization of your sock drawer. Recognize the things in our control. We can be in control about how we respond to the challenges. We can be in control about putting the foundations in place to make us as strong as we can be to withstand these challenges both mentally and physically (exercise, quick walks in nature, meditation, intentions, connection with those closest to us, deep breathing, exercising our faith, choosing where to place our energy, laughter, choosing what to focus that day/hour/minute, getting some rest/sleep, knowing when to turn off our brain or body for a break, etc.). As I develop, I continue to try and lessen my need for control. I’m not likely to buy a sock drawer organizer these days. Instead, these days, when I’m feeling like life is out of control, I first recognize how I’m feeling. Then, if the opportunity is there, take 5 minutes to meditate or walk outside or take some deep breaths. Those activities help me shift my perspective. On the days that feel most out of control to you, identify one simple thing that can help you shift your focus and energy. I hope you find your own sock drawer organizer moment and that it has a positive shift for you as you navigate this uncertain world.
All of these things can make us feel like our life is out of control. And it is true, we cannot control many things about our external world. No matter how much we try, we are not General Managers of the Universe. Given that, there always are things that we can control and I’m not limiting that to the organization of your sock drawer. Recognize the things in our control. We can be in control about how we respond to the challenges. We can be in control about putting the foundations in place to make us as strong as we can be to withstand these challenges both mentally and physically (exercise, quick walks in nature, meditation, intentions, connection with those closest to us, deep breathing, exercising our faith, choosing where to place our energy, laughter, choosing what to focus that day/hour/minute, getting some rest/sleep, knowing when to turn off our brain or body for a break, etc.). As I develop, I continue to try and lessen my need for control. I’m not likely to buy a sock drawer organizer these days. Instead, these days, when I’m feeling like life is out of control, I first recognize how I’m feeling. Then, if the opportunity is there, take 5 minutes to meditate or walk outside or take some deep breaths. Those activities help me shift my perspective. On the days that feel most out of control to you, identify one simple thing that can help you shift your focus and energy. I hope you find your own sock drawer organizer moment and that it has a positive shift for you as you navigate this uncertain world.
