Back in 2004, an earthquake caused a “tsunami,” a wave one hundred feet tall, that caused major disruption to life in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand.
If you have ever seen any of the video footage of the tsunami, in many instances, it was a “normal” sunny day at the beach, when the tsunami hit and caused tremendous destruction and ended life as it was known before the tsunami.
Fast forward to 2020. A virus, the corona virus, officially called Covid-19, has caused a “health tsunami,” a pandemic wave that is, invisible, only a few microns tall, yet is causing major disruptions to life as we know it.
What started as a “normal sunny day” ended with communities, universities, schools, bars, restaurants being shut down. Sporting events at all levels from the amateur to the professional being canceled. Air travel and other modes of travel being severely limited. Borders of countries being closed. Many cities asking their citizens to “shelter in place.” We have a new, very different “normal” at the moment.
A large number of people are feeling a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety. You are experiencing fear of the unknown because no one knows what is going to happen next.
So what is fear?
Fear of the unknown is being scared of what you don’t know. It is being scared of what you have never experienced before. It is being scared of things you cannot control. It is being scared of unwanted change.
What we are experiencing collectively as a society is “unwanted change.” One of the things I help people with as an experienced life coach and a business coach is providing solution-focused tools and techniques to effectively deal with unwanted change.
Let me give you with a new tool to surf the tsunami of fear and anxiety that you may be feeling.
Let’s take the letters of the word FEAR and create a new positive acronym you can use as a “virtual surf board” that will allow you to successfully surf the tsunami of fear and anxiety in your own life being caused by the virus.
A virtual surf board that will allow you to help yourself and others in your own environment.
My new acronym for FEAR is: “Focused Empowered Action-based Reality”
Stephen Lesavich, PhD
The Letter F — Focused – Focus is a state of directed attention. Focus your thoughts on the present moment. The past is gone. The future has not yet occurred. Focus is the key to allow you make good decisions in the present moment. To create focus in the present moment use rhythmic breathing. Rhythmic breathing includes inhaling for a number of seconds (e.g. 7-10, etc.), hold for the same number of seconds, exhaling for the same number of seconds, pausing for the same number of seconds, then repeating the process a number of times equal to the number of seconds you used. Tune into your own body and become fully aware of everything around you. What do you see, feel, smell, hear and taste, right now?
The Letter E – Empowered — Empowerment is the capability to make important decisions and the ability to act on those decisions. Empowerment is a way to exercise personal control. When you are empowered, you decide how you will proceed, how you take care of yourself. When you are empowered, you make important decisions and take actions with courage, positive energy and enthusiasm. When you are empowered, you take control of what you can control. When you are empowered, you are not a victim of anything. One way to be become empowered is to embrace the imperfect moments in your life with focus, make positive decisions and set positive intentions based on what you want and then convert your intentions into actions.
The Letter A – Action-based – An action is accomplishing something over a period of time. Create an action plan that focuses on taking small, achievable, focused, empowered steps towards the end goal of changing your current behavior patterns in a positive, solution-oriented manner. Make a list of the small focused, empowered action steps you are going to take to overcome the fear and anxiety you are facing. Fear often leads to uncertainty that causes inaction and indecision.
The Letter R – Reality – A reality is a state of being as it actually is rather than as it appears to be or is imagined to be. Your reality is created from the inside of you, outwards. The reality you create is based on the energy you send out into your environment based on your thoughts, feelings emotions and your empowered, solution-oriented actions. The energy you send out is a baseline for the reality you are creating and a baseline for what you can expect to appear in the reality you are creating.
When you feel fear immediately transform the fear you are feeling into a new Focused Empowered Action-based Reality, instead.
Remember, when you surf, you stand upright on a board and ride a wave breaking on a shore.
Stand upright on your new Focused Empowered Action-based Reality surfboard and calmly ride the wave of fear and anxiety to the shore of calm and peace in your own life.
Out There on the Edge of Everything®…
Stephen Lesavich, PhD
Copyright © 2020, by Stephen Lesavich, PhD. All rights reserved.
Certified solution-focused life coach and experienced business coach.
If you would to receive personal coaching by Dr. Lesavich, please visit his life coaching web-site for additional information.
Click Here to listen to the Podcast associated with this blog post.
Award-winning and best-selling Author, Entrepreneur, Visionary, CEO of 2 different companies, Attorney, Tech Expert, Certified Solution-Focused Life Coach, Experienced Business Coach.