Written by: Carolyn Thomson Twaddle, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise
Life is full of ups and downs, twists, and turns, and they can happen at any time. How can we have the endurance and resiliency we need to face the storms of life, survive them, and perhaps come out the other side even better? And how can we maintain a sense of peace and calm on the inside even when our natural response to what’s going on might be panic, fear, and anxiety?
Here are 5 ways to help you get through your current storm, and also prepare you for any future storms that will come your way.
Focus on the One in Control of the Storm
Perhaps the most difficult part of being in a storm is realizing that it’s beyond our control. In other words, it’s bigger than we are. Whenever we’re caught in a violent storm, the sheer magnitude and strength of it remind us of how defenseless and completely powerless we are to control it. But the truth is we were never designed to do that.
We were designed to depend on someone greater than ourselves both in and out of our storms. Yet, the reality is that it’s in the midst of the storms of life when we naturally become most aware of this.
When we’re out in the middle where the water is the deepest and far from the safety of any shore, it’s easy to succumb to fear and fixate on all the “what if’s” and what might happen. But when we only focus on the storm, we’re greatly reducing our ability to weather it.
The solution? We need to put an even greater focus on the One who can calm the storm.
Don’t Go Through It Alone
There’ll be times when our intense struggle and pain seem unbearable. And we wonder how much longer we can endure. It’s in moments like these when we can end up retreating, and isolating from others to deal with our pain privately. Yet, this only makes the pain worse.
You see, we were never designed to do life alone, and much less during a storm. That’s when we need others in our lives more than ever.
So, welcome with open arms a safe person (who genuinely has your best interests at heart) to join you and come alongside you in your storm journey. What does a safe person look like?
In The Power of the Other Dr. Henry Cloud describes what a healthy connection looks like. “In the simplest terms, a real connection is one in which you can be your whole self, the real, authentic you, a relationship to which you can bring your heart, mind, soul and passion. Both parties to the relationship are wholly present, known, understood, and mutually invested. What each truly thinks, feels, believes, fears, and needs can be shared safely.”
It’s critical to find at least one person like this—and to be a person like this for others—to be able to journey through the ups and downs of life together, and especially in the midst of life’s storms.
As beautiful as this is to have people like these journeying through life with you, we need even more support to get us through our most difficult times. You see, we’re not only designed for relationships with each other, but also with our Maker. The reality is that we were designed for both. We cannot live fully without one or the other.
In our storm journey, who better to have with us than the One who calms the waves, the One who parted the seas, and walked on water? The One who even the wind and the waves obey. The One who calms our fears and gives peace that is not of this world. And the One who will never leave us or forsake us. Do you know Him? His name is Jesus.
Take Care of Yourself
Taking care of ourselves is always important, and to be honest, it’s more important than we often realize in the day-to-day. But taking care of ourselves becomes even more critical in a storm when physical strength, stamina, and endurance are vital.
Whenever we cut corners with our self-care, we always pay the price. A price that is usually farther reaching than appears on the surface.
Take sleep-deprivation, for example. Nowhere is the devastating impact of sleep deprivation more real than in the middle of a storm. Because it’s then that if we’re exhausted, fatigued, or weak, that we become even more susceptible to injury, illness, and possibly death.
Yet when we neglect taking care of ourselves (and dismiss it as not that important), the impact goes far beyond the physical, to our overall well-being.
What does that look like? When we’re exhausted, we can easily become discouraged. We can feel a sense of hopelessness, which can begin a downward spiraling effect that then impacts other areas.
But if we’ll continue prioritizing our self-care, even if it looks a little different from what it looked like before the storm hit, it’ll make weathering the storm so much easier. If it’s possible in any way to increase your self-care during the storm, it might just save your life and your sanity!
Be Grateful
We often hear how important it is to be grateful, whether we’re in a storm or not. But it’s probably no surprise that being grateful, being thankful, is even more important in the very midst of a storm.
Even though our struggles, difficulties, and hardships during this time may be all around us, there are still things to be grateful for. If we’re willing to look for them, we’ll find them. It is sometimes in the hardest places that we can see the beauty of life contrasted with some of our darkest moments.
And in those places, when we discover something beautiful to be grateful for, the smile and encouragement it brings will go a long way and help to keep us going.
Here are a few examples of some things we can be grateful for when we find ourselves in the middle of a storm. Deeper relationships, insights gained, lessons learned, gifts received, a greater appreciation for life itself, and the simple things we otherwise easily take for granted.
Be Still · Quiet · Listen
Storms have an uncanny way of slowing us down, causing us to hit pause, reflect, and ask bigger questions about life. Questions that we might normally push aside for another time, a more “convenient” time whenever we’re outside of a storm.
But in a storm, such questions are hard to push away, which is one of the hidden beauties within a storm. Yes, there are some beautiful things to behold within our storms, and this is one of them.
It’s when those things that typically occupy our days outside a storm, the mundane, the trivial, and the petty, are rightfully put in their place. When they’re recognized for what they are, as unimportant, and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, especially when they typically crowd out what actually is important.
In other words, during our storm journey, we can be faced with some new situations or circumstances that force us to pause, reflect, and reconsider. It’s times like these when we take a fresh look at what ultimately is important and what isn’t. It’s also when we’re given a new opportunity to let go and release what is of little or no value, and put a renewed focus on that which is, such as our relationships.
It’s often during our storms when we’re faced with our frailties, limitations, and insecurities ... when we become keenly aware there is more to life, because there is.
And when that happens, something else beautiful takes place. Not only does our focus change, but our priorities do too. Ironically as our lives are turned upside down, other things end up being turned right-side-up again. The challenge is if we’ll allow them to stay right-side-up once we’re no longer in the storm.
What will make our storm journey a “success” is if those shifts, those new priorities stay with us long after our storm subsides. If we do that, our lives will be richer, fuller, with fewer regrets in the end, and we’ll also be better prepared to weather the next storm when it comes.
Carolyn Thomson Twaddle, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Carolyn is a Personal & Professional Coach to Entrepreneurs, Online Entrepreneurs, and Small Business Owners. She is in the process of being certified as an Integrative Adult Sleep Coach. She has a natural calming effect on people and helps them slow down and focus on what’s most important in life. Carolyn specifically helps Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners to stop sacrificing today for one day, or someday, and to discover that they’re actually better off and more successful if they don’t sacrifice their lives for their businesses. Carolyn is the author of LIVING IN SYNC: WITH YOUR GOD-GIVEN DESIGN where she answers some of the biggest questions about life, helps you discover how God designed you to live and to thrive (even in a broken world), and how you can experience His peace no matter what’s going on around you. A book that’s powerful · simple · practical · surprisingly insightful · and easy-to-read.
