078: Prepare for a Period of Unrest (But Before You Panic...)

It's amazing how a season of seeming unrest awakens you.

I'm accustomed to seasonal unrest in the environmental sense living in the region of the U.S. that's accustomed to watching the skies for Spring storms.

It wouldn't be Spring around here if the weather forecasters didn't get us all hyped up days in advance for the next storm-pocalypse.

Preparations being what they are - it's always a good idea to scan the horizon and listen - with discernment - to any rumblings of unrest that stand to threaten your emotional (or physical) well-being.

As in, facing unrest without distress.

That's important because the sky-is-falling type of stress has a way of draining your necessary emotional reserves that could best be used elsewhere.

Without a backup Plan B you'll be reacting to what threatens rather than responding with solutions.

Preparedness is your essential counter-attack against the stress of present or unforeseen circumstances

Such perspective encourages me to cast a vote for minimalism.

Not merely the clutter-focused brand of minimalism but also the traveling-lighter-so-you-can-stay-nimble-and-flexible brand of minimalism.

Here's how you can prepare for unrest without the extra baggage:

• Eliminate the clutter (okay, so I went there)
• Reduce the drag
• Restore your sanity

Eliminate the clutter

If the shoe (of material clutter) fits, wear it (or give it away).

Yet, not all clutter occupies your extra room, closet, drawers, or garage.

There are piles and stacks of mental and emotional clutter you must deal with as well.

I'm of the opinion that each type of clutter, whether material or emotional/mental, is in cahoots to create feelings of overwhelm in us.

Consider how you feel when you take the time to clean out a cluttered drawer, organize your desk, or attack your closet of unworn clothes (my wife tells me those feelings are worth the effort, wink-wink).

Case in point, the sense of satisfaction from eliminating the material clutter somehow relaxes your mind and emotions and whatever clutter is presently there.

So, that unrest you're feeling might be traceable in some way to the clutter you're allowing to stack up in your life.

I feel that repeating the timeless wisdom of attacking one pile of clutter at a time sounds redundant.

Even so, redundancy here could give you some much needed energy for any clutter related unrest you feel.

Consider taking simple action as a clutter-elimination Plan B when everything else you've tried hasn't left you better prepared to deal with any present or approaching unrest.

Reduce the drag

What worries you often weighs you down.

It's common to live with an ongoing sense of drag, especially when your days seem full of unrest.

You might find yourself making statements like,

"I had to drag myself out of bed..."

"I had to drag myself to that appointment..."

"I couldn't drag myself to have that conversation..."

The drag is generally a sense of unrest about what you assume awaits you on the other side of the action you're avoiding.

If that's the case, some preliminary assessment about the unrest you feel or anticipate provides a useful reminder about what you can control and what you can't.

You can reduce the drag in your life by filtering your unrest through two circles.

• Your "circle of influence"
• Your "circle of concern"

What concerns you might not be within your scope of influence - if so, let it go or let it (your influence) grow.

What you have influence over gives you somewhat of an ability to control it.

And of course, there's current or approaching unrest that is completely out of your control or ability to influence.

It's amazing how the drag in life is typically caused by those things over which we have no influence or control but they still occupy a substantial and burdensome amount of control.

Reduce the drag in your life by:

• Evaluating your influence - do you have an ability through listening or leveraging your wisdom to have influence?
• Expanding your influence - based on your wisdom and experience can you affect change in the situation?
• Empowering your influence - what encourages you to maintain influence over people or situations?

Restore your sanity

I'm not suggesting that your present or future sanity is in question (but an occasional gut-check can't hurt).

Much of the unrest you're feeling could be traceable to the level of questionably sane information, media, or news that you consume.

Face it, the media-feeds you're exposed to on a consistent basis are intentional about creating feelings of unrest.

Unrest causes you to seek shelter or solutions.

Without questioning and applying rational or critical thinking you'll be sucked into the vortex of information designed to drive your unrest.

Sanity is at risk when you fail to allow your mind and emotions to be balanced, discerning, and curious.

Unrest thrives on imbalanced, spoon-fed, and stubborn approaches to your inputs.

• Evaluate information and circumstances with a balanced perspective (ask: does this sound reasonable or unreasonable?)
• Apply discernment within your moments of unrest through critical thinking (what would be a rational and productive response to this?)
• Be curious about alternative solutions to the "noise" of unrest you're experiencing (is there a better way to approach this and achieve a more favorable outcome?)

Feelings or experiences of unrest aren't the only issue - how you're prepared to deal with them is also part of the equation

• Eliminate the clutter
• Reduce the drag
• Restore your sanity

Press on...

Eddie