Advice For Dealing With Uncertainty — From People Who’ve Been There

We are living in uncertain times. No one knows exactly how or when this coronavirus pandemic will end — or what it will mean for our lives and the lives of our loved ones in the future.

This pandemic that we’re all going through feels unprecedented — but the feeling of uncertainty is not. People live through all kinds of scary things all the time. Here are seven tips for dealing with uncertainty from people who’ve been there.

1. Reflect.

Check in with yourself. Allow yourself to get in touch with how you’re feeling. Reflect both on what’s hard and on what’s still good. Maybe that’s in a journal or through a prayer or a conversation with a friend.

2. Don’t “should” on yourself.

There’s no right way to get through a difficult time. Some people get super productive. Others, not so much. Walery says to let go of the pressure of other people’s expectations.

3. Know when to shut it down.

After you stop obsessing about what you should do, find some things you want to do — things that take your mind off your worries during uncertain times.

4. Find your “best gift” for the day.

Once you’ve set aside external expectations and taken time to recharge, that might free up energy to do good, meaningful, even productive things. For Bowler, it was writing books in the waiting room during her chemotherapy treatments.

5. Move past shame.

Uncertain times mean navigating changes in your life that you can’t control. They may mean doing things differently, even reaching out for help — that’s part of being resilient, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of.

6. Find your “resilience circle.”

White said it was also important to connect with people who could lift her up and point her in the right direction. She called these friends her “resilience circle.” Some of them were other people in her age group facing similar financial struggles during the Great Recession.

7. Don’t try to make sense of things too soon.

Both Bowler and White said it can be tempting to rush through an uncertain situation and try to make it seem certain — to fill in blanks, leap ahead to what might be next. But they both say: Just don’t.

Excerpted from “Advice For Dealing With Uncertainty — From People Who’ve Been There” on NPR‘s Life Kit. Read the full article for additional details on the above tips NPR correspondent Sarah McCammon gathered from multiple interviews with people who shared their experiences and their recommendations.

Listen to the podcast, below:

Source: NPR | Advice For Dealing With Uncertainty — From People Who’ve Been There, https://www.npr.org/2020/05/01/849181366/advice-for-dealing-with-uncertainty-from-people-whove-been-there | © 2020 npr

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