We are all facing a lot of uncertainty right now. And with all the chaos in our lives, a lot of us are having to have uncomfortable conversations and face some uncomfortable decisions.

And you may or may not have already noticed that when humans get challenged with anything uncomfortable, the tendency is to shut down. We resist, we hide. We’d rather do anything else but face it. 

But when we resist things, whether it’s a situation or a negative feeling, it just comes back multifold. Unless we face it head on, it will continue to come back and keep us stuck where we are. 

Why We Resist 

But why do we resist in the first place?

There’s actually a psychological explanation for it. We resist and avoid because that is how our brains are programmed. 

Our brains are programmed to react to the same situations in the same way each time. It’s habitual.

Additionally, our brain and our body’s main job is to survive. They are made to protect us. It’s the “fight-or-flight” response that gets activated.  

According to Harvard Health: 

“The carefully orchestrated yet near-instantaneous sequence of hormonal changes and physiological responses helps someone to fight the threat off or flee to safety. Unfortunately, the body can also overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening, such as traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties.”

So, when our body perceives something as a threat, it makes us shut down by avoiding or numbing it. 

You can see why the patterns keep repeating themselves, can you not? 

4 Tips to Overcome Uncomfortable Feelings and Get Unstuck 

Luckily, when you’re intentional about your thoughts and actions, you can overcome the patterns.

Here are 4 tips that will help you overcome uncomfortable feelings: 

1. Look for the thought. Behind every feeling, there is a thought and behind every thought there is a story. So, what’s the story behind the emotion that you’re trying to avoid? When you can identify the thought, or the REASON for the feeling, you are much more equipped to deal with it. 
2. Observe. The second tip is observe. Be an observer of your thoughts, your actions and your life. When you’re silent and you can observe your thoughts and actions, so much will start to be revealed to you. Sit quietly and just observe without any judgement. 
3. Ask for guidance in stillness. Meditation / stillness of the mind is a favorite of mine. Sitting in silence allows you to be in touch with what’s really going on inside. I get so much information about my life through it just being with myself and asking for guidance from the universe. 
4. Breathe. Lastly, when you’re facing any uncomfortable feelings, don’t act, don’t react, just stop for a moment and focus on your breath. Breathing slowing and deeply slows down the brain. Once you are in a calmer place, you can then take aligned action.

Facing uncertainty and feeling fear, stress and anxiety are just part of being human. But it’s when we try to avoid these very real, very natural feelings that it can become a problem. Instead of avoiding, use these 4 tips to overcome the feelings and move past them. 

xo

Padma

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