Managing Turbulence

In the midst of chaos, it can be very difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It engulfs you. It pulls you in. It convinces you that this new normal will last.

But every storm ends. This too shall pass. The turbulent times will give way to peace and calm. We need to be able to keep this perspective to make it through.

This is an area that I struggle. I try to detach and see the bigger picture, but it can be difficult. The more natural tendency for me is to embrace the chaos and work through it.

I recall a recent problem time for me. I was struggling to see past the discomfort of the moment. Now that the winds have calmed, I am disappointed in myself for not being able to shake the stress and frustration I felt.

Even though I need to grow in this area, I’ve found that the systems and habits approach to improvement offers value here.

It helps us maintain the positive and limit the negative impacts. It helps us form new habits to create our new normal, rather than give in to the stress and get sucked into poor habits.

By focusing on the small steps that we can take, we avoid becoming overwhelmed and giving up. Once we are past the craziness, we will find that we didn’t slip nearly as far as was possible. We held on and are now poised to make headway.

Just as the systems and habits approach to improvement provides value during turbulent times, it also helps us during great times. When things are going well, there is a tendency to take it for granted and slide backwards. If we aren’t careful, we set up a future normal that will be less and will prevent us from sustaining the progress we made.

During these fun times, it tells us that we still need to remain disciplined. We need to desire the tough workout and avoid overindulging.

This evens our life out. Instead of the ups being extremely high but positioning us for a fall it keeps us level. Instead of the challenging part of life sucking us into a downward spiral it keeps our head above water.

Everyone experiences good times and bad times. Those who gravitate to the extremes will find that the flow of life impacts them greatly. They will feel less ownership over their life and less control.

Those who humble themselves during success and raise themselves from the ashes when the fire inevitably hits, we be the ones who become resilient and persistent. They develop grit.

They learn to take 100% responsibility for life. This includes the bad effects as much as the wins. They learn to shake off the ego boost that comes from winning, realizing that celebration is often the start of a backslide.

Even if you are not great at seeing past the current chaos, work to maintain positive systems and habits. They will provide value during difficult times and will provide the foundation for growth once past the storm.