How To Find Peace In A Stressful Situation

My heart was throbbing. My fists clenched. 



They were spewing misinformation.

False claims.

They made disgusting remarks about people I genuinely care about on my team.


All they wanted to do was hurt others. To make them feel better about their own demons.

Nothing happened.

It didn’t impact anything.

Nothing resulted from it besides their anger.

But I take false statements about my team personal.

As I’m sure, you do.

That’s life!

We all don’t agree.

Others will try and throw verbal stones. And that’s okay.

Life will tie rocks to your ankle and toss you in the sea of living.

Stressful situations are never-ending. They’re constant. They’re a part of you. With the light, you’re going to get darkness. 



Epictetus said,

“Don’t let the force of an impression when it first hits you knock you off your feet; just say to it, Hold on a moment; let me see who you are and what you represent. Let me put you to the test.”

Understand you won’t escape stressful situations, but what you can do is control your impressions of them. Here’s how…

See the situation for what it’s worth. Get clarity on it.

Ever since I had children, I’ve had a fear of heights.

It’s weird. 

I use to want to skydive, to fly, and do all these things that took me off my feet.


Now? 

I hate all of them.

I’ll get a tightness in my stomach on a ferris wheel, or looking out the window of a tall building.

I’ve realized why this is happening because I don’t want to DIE!

 That’s my clarity.

I want to spend as much time with my children as I can. 

I know this is ridiculous in many aspects…like flying. And I’m in the aviation industry.

Crazy!



When you’ve encountered a stressful situation, get clarity on why it’s causing you stress and see it for what it’s worth. 



In the story at the beginning of this post, I saw I was wasting time with an ‘angry, judgmental, unaccountable for their actions, it’s everyone else’s fault but yours’ type of person.

A narcissist. 

So, I stopped wasting time thinking about it. 

I got clarity.

Dissect the situation and treat it as a life lesson.

Once you have the clarity, you need to dissect it.

For my fear of heights, I’m treating it as a reason to love my children to death.

Literally!

To hug, kiss, and play with them every chance I get. 

Life could be short. Who knows.

I don’t want to waste time. 

The fear of heights has taught me to better live in the moment.

I’ve also learned how to spot narcissistic people and to distance myself from unaccountable people.

There’s always a lesson. Find yours.

Make adjustments for the next time.

Once you’ve learned what the life lesson is, you need to make adjustments.

Adjustments to your behavior, your focus, and your emotions.

For one, I’ve made it a priority to learn more about human behavior. It’s interesting. I

t’ll help me with hiring, building a team, and making the right decisions as a leader…even the most difficult ones. 



I’ve also learned why some of these things occurred, and I’ll correct them.


The adjustments will be different for every situation. Find yours and make them.

Don’t just think about the life lesson; turn it into action.