Feeling powerless and out of control during this unprecedented time is definitely a common problem at the moment. However, I’m a glass half full person with a positive personality basically at all times so I am hoping to help you take that powerless feeling and find the silver lining.
If you look hard enough, there will be a lesson learned during this difficult time and definitely an opportunity to find strength AND control, even if you think otherwise.
Six years ago, I wrote the below in this original post about feeling powerless and not in control. You will see that I tie things together by making connections to running and eating but there’s a bigger meaning buried in there.
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Are we ever really powerless?
We encounter so many different situations in our lives where things seem so completely out of our control…but…. are we ever really powerless?
Take the icy run I had this morning for example: While the weather was interfering with what I wanted to do, I wasn’t powerless.
I did have the option to wait an extra hour for the ground to warm up or, at the very least, run on the treadmill. But I am stubborn, a creature of habit, and really didn’t want to be cooped up inside.
Can you see what I am getting at? We have the power to make our own choices in how we react to a situation that seems completely out of our control. We have more control than we think.
Now, let’s take the insatiable appetite that woke me up early Saturday morning (2:30 am) to the point where if I didn’t get out of bed and eat something, I was going to be sick.
While it may seem I was being overpowered by my raging runner appetite, I was in complete control of what I chose to put in my mouth. Oatmeal and a piece of a banana always do the trick.
We always have choices.
We cannot control the weather, other people, or various situations that occur in our everyday personal and professional lives, but we can control our reactions and how we handle ourselves.
Sometimes we feel stuck as if we are powerless. And sometimes, for a brief moment, this may very well be true. But, if you stop to think about it, you have the power to get unstuck. You have the power to make decisions about how you will handle your emotions in a way that helps you to feel more in control.
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So applying the above to what we are going through right now, it’s very possible you can’t run where you normally run or maybe you can’t run at all. Maybe your entire workout routine has been uprooted. You still have workout choices. You are in control if you choose to realize you can be in control. Technology is an incredible thing, especially right now. The abundance of virtual workout options is there for you to choose from at any time of the day from the comfort of your home. So maybe you can’t run, but you can select a cardio workout or even a strength workout and learn to love it. You can still exercise, it just maybe a little different from usual right now. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. You might come out of this to learn you like to run less, you love a new workout, or even realize you needed a break from running.
You also have choices with what you eat. No need to be that person who succumbs to a less than stellar diet 24/7 simply because of what we are currently living through, even with the food shopping limitations. If tips are needed here, please let me know. 🙂
In this excerpt below from my life lessons after divorce post, I definitely see a correlation in what I wrote as being applicable to the experience of living through today’s pandemic. You see, sometimes it takes going through something really challenging to grow from the situation and apply it later on when something else occurs. Life is never perfect, there will always be challenges. It’s realizing this and then learning how to use your experiences and find the positive outcomes from the negative to gain strength to then help you master the difficult times in a more positive way.
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Strength Comes From Experience.
They say what doesn’t kill us will make us stronger and I am living proof of this. I know very well that I am a much stronger person after going through the years of my divorce and it’s a strength I keep in mind whenever anything else challenging comes my way.
While of course, I wish I didn’t go through what I did, I can sit here today and say that my divorce experience has made me a much stronger and wiser person.
Wisdom Is A Beautiful Thing.
I learned a whole lot going through a divorce and it’s a pearl of wisdom I am now extremely proud of and can’t imagine living without.
I always say that I could eat some people alive just based upon my life in my 20’s and early 30’s. I did a lot of living early on which got so dramatic with a four-year divorce process to cap it all off. The financial and emotional details of it all are more life experiences than some will ever encounter.
However, what I learned and continue to learn from what I went through now only enhances my life in a positive way. I am able to help my friends (and readers!) who are going through various types of situations and my knowledge on so many random and convoluted subjects can only be attributed to dealing with my divorce.
Good Things Can Come From Bad.
When I was married, I was a stay at home mom. A total housewife.
I never intended on working ever again and probably wouldn’t have needed to had we stayed married, which means the career I have built for myself would never have come to be.
Ten years ago, if you told me I was going to become a writer who not only has a blog with people who want to read what I have to say but also get paid for writing it, I never would have believed you.
And a career in the event industry? Director of Marketing? ME? A career that came about because I started writing this blog which gave me a resume filled with my writing which ultimately brought me to Allseated?
None of this would have had happened if I was still married. At least I don’t think so.
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I mean it when I say there is strength and wisdom to be gained from this difficult time. You can find some sense of control when you realize it’s okay to live in a stage of uncertainty. And I bet, you will likely find yourself come out on the other side of this completely changed for the better. Maybe with new career options and appreciation for foods and activities you didn’t care for in the past, and maybe a new appreciation for spending time alone without a packed schedule. Of course, right now is a struggle but this struggle offers life lessons specific to each of us which will only help us moving forward, I promise.
The Cookie ChRUNicles 