Simone Biles did what was right for her last week and I don’t know how you can’t just applaud someone who prioritizes their own well being.
(But apparently there’s a small minority of critics who can’t.)
I’ve often written about the wisdom of this kind of choice in various courses and books.
Specifically,the all-important first step is NOT swinging into ACTION, but coming into ALIGNMENT.
As human beings, we’re biologically programmed to react to the unknown with FEAR.
This helped us survive in the wilderness where the breaking of any twig might have signaled a predator eyeing us for lunch.
In our modern world, however, we’re less likely to be eaten by a tiger, than distracted by our own internalized panic.
That’s why Inner Alignment must be our top priority.
Note: I’m NOT suggesting that rather than putting out the grease fire in your kitchen by putting a lid on the pan, you sit and meditate for 20 minutes first.
(The new Meditation of the Month is coming next week, however.)
There are indeed times when we must immediately swing into action or the situation will worsen.
More often than not, however, even just a few moments of getting centered will prevent us from making knee-jerk wrong decisions.
For example, rather than trying to put out that grease fire with water, we remember we should use than baking soda so as not to splatter the flames.
Stepping back, even for just a breath, is vital.
But stepping back by itself isn’t enough.
How do we best use the time to get back into that elusive state of Alignment?
Asking these three questions has really helped me when facing any kind of crisis in my own life, imagined or not––and maybe they’ll help you.
#1. Is this really an Emergency?
For example, does this really have to be completely solved right now?
Even if there is a deadline involved, is it possible that it could be extended?
More importantly, are things truly as “Life or Death” as they feel?
Perhaps this is a mere cosmic speed bump, on a journey that will ultimately work out well for you?
So many of us tend to minimize our freedoms around breaking rules that there’s value when stepping back and asking “How important is this anyway?”
#2 Can this “Crisis” be relabeled as “Opportunity?”
Sometimes this is easier said than done––and nothing is more annoying than when a well-meaning New Age person insists that every real problem is just a “challenge”…and yet there’s something very powerful here that’s worth exploring.
I’m sure that in your own life, often amazing things happened directly through situations that seemed anywhere from less than ideal to downright awful.
As I shared in these newsletters before, my last apartment fell through at the last minute…but a vastly superior one (in every way) turned out to be quite literally just around the corner.
If I lean out on my balcony just enough, I can see the other apartment building…and I’m so glad I don’t live there!
#3. Can I change my focus to WHAT IS ACTUALLY WORKING?
I’m not suggesting you deny the reality of problems you have to solve.
Nonetheless, even for just a moment, you can still shift your focus to all of the things that are in fact working well (sometimes even amazingly well) in your life.
Sometimes you can start with even the smallest nugget of goodness and manage to pivot beyond that.
I shared this story in our private membership group recently (we’re opening the doors again in September), about a financial crisis I was having about 12 years ago.
It was a perfect storm of delays and rejections and suddenly I was experiencing a very scary low financial ebb.
All I could think about was how I didn’t have some specific amount I needed in my bank account to pay the rent and other necessities.
I was increasingly close to panic and that wasn’t yielding any positive results.
The turning point though, was when I realized, that I had just purchased a large container of dog food for my chocolate lab, Belle.
She had at least a month’s worth of food, and that fact alone made me feel a little bit better.
No matter what, Belle would not starve!
From there, I realized that my cell phone account was also current.
Thus I had the ability to reach almost anyone I knew via calls, emails, and texts, and even the ability to research on the internet.
With this gradual but vital focus shift, I was able to relax a bit until some unexpected creative solutions opened up to me.
Note: Nothing got fixed immediately.
But I was able to start moving forward from a place where I could actually see clearly, where I had some refreshed perspective.
And that’s basically how we have to navigate any Mental Health Break.
I had to take a minor Mental Health Break around my birthday this year, postponing most everything for a week or so.
I grant you that it’s not quite the same thing as dropping out of the Olympics.
Nonetheless, I do think it’s important to remember we all have the right to step back when we need to, so that ultimately we can truly step up stronger and more resilient than before.
If Simone Biles can do it, so can you.
Namaste for Now,
