Nine simple hacks to stay calm in the middle of this chaos and confusion.
When everything is f*cked, when everyone is worried, losing calm doesn’t help!
I wrote something in my previous blog (“10 pieces of advice for Generation Z and young adults”) which is very important for all of us to keep in mind.
Call it the best or the worst thing, but life moves on!
With the global pandemic outbreak, the world is going through a very tough phase. There is so much uncertainty, confusion and chaos. Everything seems like a nightmare. All we can have is faith.
The phase that the world is going through is enough to teach us how temporary and insignificant our ego is. Most of us live in an egocentric manner, thinking that the world is revolving around us. But things like these teach us how, very, uncertain life is.
Who would have thought that so much would happen in 2020, an year which everyone was expecting to be the solution to all the problems, the start of a new decade, so much hope.
In your mind, you can plan your whole future, but you don’t actually know what the future has for you. In a moment the whole world can change, the only thing that no one can take away from you is hope, and till the time hope is present, you will know that,
This too shall pass!
and, let’s not forget that,
The next chapter of your life, has not been written yet!
Woah, hey Madhav, calm down!
I know it was a little serious start to my blogs, which is very opposite to my writing style. I generally keep my blogs informal and funny (at least I try), so yeah, let’s start!
Ok, sorry for the serious intro, but yeah, you got my point, nothing is forever, real beauty of this life lies in this present moment, be thankful for it, and stay calm.
So as the title says, in this situation of confusion and chaos, it’s very important to stay calm, and here in this blog, I will share with you my nine hacks to remain calm.
And FYI, you already know that I never write useless flashy self-help tips that no one can follow, I write simple tips and tricks which you can start following from now itself. So do read this blog till the end, and yes, subscribe to my mailing list to hear from me every weekend — madhavbahl.tech/subscribe
Hack #1: DISCONNECT
What do you mean!?
It’s simple, just turn off your phone and laptop, if you can’t do that, just log-out of your social media accounts for a few hours or days and then see the magic.
If you are a reader from India, you know that year 2020 isn’t all fairy tale we imagined it to be. Everything seems so f*cked up, everything seems going wrong.
Don’t forget the law of attraction! I don’t know whether that’s true or not but if we follow it, one thing is for sure, at least we can stay calm.
Basically, on social media, we are fed with the content which will keep us engaged, not the content that would be helpful for us. Especially these days, you can see the social media is filled with hate and negativity. Try to remain positive, try to find the good things that are happening in the world.
I agree that there is a lot of noise, but isn’t it true that at the same time, there are a lot of melodious songs as well? Isn’t it up to us to decide, which one to give more value?
So this is a simple, quick hack, as soon as you start feeling anxious about the things that are happening, just switch off your phone, throw it in a cupboard, and start doing something else, maybe start reading a book, or go and talk to an old friend about those old memories?
Hack 2: Stop asking yourself “WHAT IF”
Wait Madhav, what if the economy goes down? What if everything starts going against humanity? What if ….. What if ……
Dude stop! No one knows the future, stop asking the questions which no one can answer.
The worst thing you can do at the time of chaos and confusion is to think about the things that can go wrong. It will just increase your fear.
People’s heart is always ruled by fear! Fear exists in different forms, and each and every one suffers from it. But, being afraid doesn’t bring you out from your sorrow and pain, does it?
When things get chaotic, it’s likely that you will start getting afraid, trust me on this, in this situation, at all costs, avoid asking yourself any question which starts with “What if”
Fear is simply the imagination of some sorrow that may come in future, it has nothing to do with the reality. Despite knowing that fear is nothing but imagination, is it very difficult to liberate oneself from it?
Hack #3: Do not speak wrong about yourself!
Hey Madhav, I stopped all those “What ifs” but still, you know what, I suck at dealing with these situations. Ah, I suck at everything, what’s wrong with me?
Stop this! You are the best version of yourself, you have to know that there is no other you, you are unique, and at difficult times, you must not let go of your self confidence and pride.
Very often when we are confused, we start questioning our own abilities. Sometimes it can even give birth to existential thoughts.
Having faith in yourself can do wonders, just remind yourself again and again, that you are the awesome (even if you are not awesome haha). Indulging in self-deprecating conversations will open the door to negativity, which will eventually make you lose your calm.
STOP NEGATIVE SELF-TALK!
Here are some famous quotes to motivate you :)
“Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy”
— Martin Luther King, Jr.“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall”
— Confucius
Hack #4: Workout (Move your body man, don’t remain on that couch)
Oh hello! we are quarantined, we can’t go outside? Even the gyms are closed
Lol! who told you work out is possible only in gyms?
Not only because it is essential to maintain health, but also, whenever you are stressed (trust this quick hack), doing any sort of physical exercise will bring back your concentration and help you maintain calm.
Whenever we think of fitness, there is one word that crosses our mind, “Gym”. But fitness is not at all limited to the gym, there are many other styles of fitness like Yoga, where you might not even need to go to the gym.
Whenever you feel you are losing calm, or getting stressed, one quick hack to get out of that state of mind is to do some quick exercises, maybe 50 push ups, or some crunches, or whatever home workout routine you follow.
“Exercise is like telling your body “you’re gonna hate me for this, but you’ll thank me later.”
Hack #5: Sleep for a couple of hours
Lol what! Just now you were telling to workout, and now you are advising us to sleep? You alright buddy?
Yes, completely. Just like working out or doing some physical activity is a good way to remove stress quickly, sleeping also helps.
When you are damn stressed out, and lost your shit, the best remedy (which works for me) is sleep.
It actually happened to me, while I had hundreds of assignments to complete in school/college, so much stress, so much anxiety, how in the world am I going to finish this, I used to lay down and sleep for a couple of hours.
After that, I don’t know if it’s some magic, when I woke up fresh, I was able to complete that.
To be honest, it’s completely logical, with all the stress of so many deadlines, it’s likely to become unproductive and start spending time in thinking and planning instead of actually doing. Sleeping for a couple of hours calms down the mind, and brings us (atleast me) back on track.
“Each night, when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning, when I wake up, I am reborn.”
― Mahatma Gandhi
Hack #6: Accept the fact that you are worried, let them out by writing them in your diary
Are you for real!? I have friends, why should I talk to a diary? Come on, which generation are you living in? Old geezer!
Call me whatever, but try it out once. I believe that it’s ok to talk about your worries to your friends, but if you do that again and again, it will become annoying. On the contrary, your diary will never get annoyed by you.
Go read this small article I wrote about an year ago — “Dear Diary”
You might have noticed that whenever we are worried and we get someone to talk about it, all our worries, vanish away. But we can’t trouble others again and again, right? Plus the things that are going on, it’s disturbing for all of us.
A very important step to deal with your worries is to acknowledge and accept them. Maintain a diary. write down the things that are worrying you, things that are making you lose your calm. Once you do so, you will be clear about what are the things that make you worried, and then, you can deliberately stay away from them.
Plus, if you love writing (just like I do), start writing diary daily, you will see that in a few days, diary will become your best friend with whom you can share everything and feel relieved.
“One advantage in keeping a diary is that you become aware with reassuring clarity of the changes which you constantly suffer”
— Franz Kafka
Hack #7: Meditate (Try some apps or videos on YouTube for guided meditation)
Ahh, I am too lazy for that. Wait no, if I am lazy, there should be no problem in sitting at the same place for some time. Does that mean, I am not lazy, I am pretty active? Hell no, I am a lazy fellow. Ahh I am confused.
Stop overthinking, try out meditation for once. I should have kept this as the first point, but anyways. Try out this 5 mins guided meditation.
Mediation is very powerful. Whenever you feel stressed, or worried, or confused, or find yourself losing calm, try it out. It’s magical.
If you are new to this, you might not know some proper techniques, and you might end up getting bored sitting at the same place, and maybe you might become more annoyed.
To prevent that, I would suggest that if you are a beginner, go to YouTube, and search for guided meditation. Even if you have 5 minutes to spare, just search for “5 Minutes Guided Meditation” and you will find some amazing videos which can help calm your mind (instantly)
“With every breath, the old moment is lost; a new moment arrives. We exhale and we let go of the old moment. It is lost to us. In doing so, we let go of the person we used to be. We inhale and breathe in the moment that is becoming. In doing so, we welcome the person we are becoming. We repeat the process. This is meditation. This is renewal. This is life.”
— Lama Surya Das
Hack #8: Practice Gratitude
Ok, how does that work?
It’s very simple. Be grateful, no matter what you are going through, be grateful.
How to do it?
Very simple, right now, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, just think of all the privileges you have.
Make a small list of things in your mind, which were once a dream to you, but now you have them. The things that many people just dream of having, but you are having them right now.
Thank god for each of those things, and you will know how fortunate you are and how insignificant your worries are.
Just know that,
Whatever you are going through, you are not the first one, neither the only one. There are people who went through it, and came out strong. So have faith.
Hack #9: If nothing works, don’t give a f*ck about things you can’t change…
Now you are talking ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Sometimes we have to agree that some things are beyond our control. To maintain our peace of mind in such situations, it is very essential to stop thinking about it, and going with the flow.
This might not sound as important, but trust me, you have to let go of things you can’t control.
Instead of worrying, letting yourself enter the state of confusion, find out whether you can do something about it or not. Learn to differentiate the situations which are under your control from the ones which are far beyond your control, and for the latter ones, STOP THINKING.
Due to the spread of Covid-19, it’s a very difficult situation for the whole world. In this situation, it is highly essential that we stay at home, and avoid unnecessary travels.
A few weeks ago I wrote this blog on 10 things you can do to make your weekends more productive. I feel that it will be helpful during this time of quarantine. (Except for the 2nd point)
That’s it, I hope you liked the article. I wish all of you a happy and peaceful life. Enjoy your weekend.
Feel free to reach out to me anytime if you want to discuss something :D
I would be more than happy if you send your feedback, suggestions.
Moreover, I love to make new friends and we can be friends, just drop me an email.
Thanks a lot for reading till end. You can contact me in case if you need any assistance:
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Email: madhavbahl10@gmail.com
