Last month, we dedicated the month of April to mental fitness. Every Sunday, we released a new feature designed to help you strengthen the power of your mind with Klay S. Williams (@planawithklay) a transformational change agent, author and podcast host who specializes in courageous wellness conversations in the media and corporate spaces. Our topics include: manifesting a breakout moment, overcoming the unexpected, discovering the hidden benefits of meditation, and conquering self-limiting beliefs. First up: manifesting a breakthrough moment. Next: how to overcome the unexpected.
How to Overcome the Unexpected
Whether it’s adapting to recent layoff or dealing with a sidelining injury, change is hard for us as humans. “It questions the number one thing that we all want to have in our life: control,” says Klay. That leads to the fight or flight response and is the reason so many of us resist change even if it’s inevitable, or positive.
In fact, the inability to cope with change could cause you to miss the potential for your breakthrough moment. “Life is always pushing us towards different experiences or in new directions, even when we don’t feel ready,” says Klay. Maybe it’s that you really hate your job or need to leave a relationship and it takes a pink slip or a tough breakup to push you to that next phase of your life. Or, maybe it takes an injury to help you strike a better balance with your training. Instead of fleeing, consider that unexpected situations like this can be signs. Here, three tools to help you do just that:
Become open-minded.
“Welcoming change often means getting a little uncomfortable and trying something new,” says Klay. For example, instead of immediately disregarding a job opportunity because you don’t have a certain skill, consider if it’s something that you could easily learn. Or, rather than focus on what you can’t do while injured (like running) consider picking up a new pursuit like cycling or swimming if your doctor has cleared you for those lower-impact sports.
Find the lesson.
“There are always teachable moments, especially when everything is taken away from us,” says Klay. “When there’s an unexpected change or shift in your life, you have to ask yourself, ‘what is it that this moment is here to teach me? What is it that I need to learn?’” For example, Klay cites a client who lost her job, a family pet, the man she thought was her life partner, and her NYC apartment, soon after the pandemic started. “Within the year of learning a new normal and walking towards her internal concerns, healing took place. She learned that her life was centered around making everyone happy, while never stopping to ask herself, ‘What is it that I want for my life?’” In the same week one year later that she was let go from her previous company, she found herself in her dream job and relocated back to NYC. “Her success was a result of doing the work necessary and ebbing to the powerful flow of change. She didn’t resist it, but was willing to learn from it.”
Channel it into action.
“As you’re exploring what it is you need to learn about yourself, you’re able to use that as fuel to create something else,” says Klay. Take Shakespeare for example. “He was alive during plagues where he was shut in the house for six months to a year. What was he able to do with that unexpected shift? He created Macbeth and it became a mega hit.” So, how can you channel whatever it is that you are learning into something that’s new, that’s creative, or utilizes your gifts and talents in a unique way?
Photography credit: Andre L. Perry; @perrylperry
Disclaimer:
This information is for educational purposes only and is not clinical medical advice. Please consult your healthcare and mental health practitioners prior to implementing any lifestyle change.
