|
Saturday, 15 December, 2007 11:34 PM
Can You Prepare Yourself to Handle
the Bad Things in Life?
Do you ever find yourself
turning off the evening news because watching one more story about
something bad will shoot your stress level into the stratosphere?
Global warming, terrorism, record home foreclosures and of course,
murder, crime and scandal are the prevailing stories of the day.
We live in a world where we're constantly bombarded by bad news.
While you can't bury your head in the sand and pretend these problems
don't exist, can you prevent the state of the world from stressing
you out?
Louise Lewis, a ‘self-growth junkie’ and author of the
inspirational new book, "No Experts Needed: The Meaning of
Life According to You!" believes we can learn to protect ourselves
from feeling overwhelmed by negative events. "Many of us, whether
we're consciously aware of it or not, absorb all of this bad news
and it chips away at our sense of security and balance," says
Lewis. "So how do you prevent the state of the world from completely
stressing you out? You focus on changing the state of your world
and on touching the lives around you in a positive way."
For example, if your life is a daily routine of getting up, going
to work and then coming home and watching TV each night, you can
become isolated. That makes it easy to focus on the very negative
things that are going on in the world. On the flip side, if you
seek out opportunities to socialize and show compassion towards
others you achieve multiple positive benefits.
"When you build bonds with other people it's like weaving a
safety net for yourself," says Lewis. "The ability to
commiserate and laugh together establishes a healthy foundation
for you emotionally. And when you feel anxious about the world-at-large,
giving to others can help. Your giving spirit can simply lead you
to talk to someone who looks lonely in a coffee shop. Sometimes
chance encounters where you take the time to reach out on a human
level can have a profound impact on others-- and yourself."
Reaching out to others can be a key coping strategy when things
in your own life get rough—and the reality is, they will get
rough at some point. Whether you’re dealing with a divorce,
death of a loved one or some other drastic, life-altering event,
Lewis believes it is possible to prepare yourself for adversity.
“I’m not saying you should walk around in a constant
state of anticipation waiting for bad things to happen to you,”
says Lewis. “But realistically speaking no one is immune from
problems. So if you work on fortifying your life, you’ll be
in a better position to handle those major events when they do happen.”
So how do you ‘fortify’ your life? For starters, you
spend time figuring out what’s important to you—essentially
determining what your personal meaning of life is. If you gain a
sense of what matters most in your life and then focus on those
areas, you’ll have an anchor when the storm hits.
“Deciding your
own meaning of life gives you strength and it also gives you a freedom
to break down barriers with the people you love,” says Lewis.
“Once I began following my own sense of purpose, I was able
to talk to my family in a new, more open way. They sensed the honesty
of it and it’s changed the dynamics of our relationships.
It put history in its proper place- the past. And our improved relationships
fortified my buffer zone against the bad things in life.”
About Louise
Lewis
Louise Lewis has two decades of experience in marketing and advertising
in the high-tech industry. When the dot-com bubble imploded, so
did Lewis’ cozy world. Her sudden job loss led her on a journey
to seek out a new meaning in her life. She discovered some core
truths that can help others discover their own sense of purpose.
Born and raised in Louisiana, Lewis earned her bachelor’s
degree in Communications at California State University in Fullerton.
She still lives in Southern California and serves as a volunteer
at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
Available At: www.noexpertsneeded.com.
Source: News and
Experts
|
