Lisa Hansen offers a truly unique style of Mindset Coaching that powerfully blends Spiritual practices, Manifestation teachings, Somatic Release techniques, and practical Life Coaching skills. She has helped hundreds of clients feel empowered to manifest the life they dream about.
Are world events feeling more unsettling to you right now? You are not alone. It’s so tempting to get pulled in and go down the rabbit hole of doom and gloom. Just turn on the news or try to have a political or climate chat with a family member or friend who has a different viewpoint than you do. Social Media is full of people tearing each other apart. The division is even ending relationships. It can all feel so emotionally draining. Whereas you can’t control world events, there are things you can do to manage your fear, worry, and anxiety.
Be the change
Most of us have heard you can make a change by being the change. You may even roll your eyes at this. But stay with me. The time that we are in right now has been predicted for decades to be a catalyst for positive change. The dark before the light. More love and less hate. Now more than ever is the time to practice self-care, manage your thoughts and emotions, and choose how you want to show up in the world. Being the change means having heightened awareness about your energy. It requires learning how to manage and process negative emotions by practicing mindset work, somatic exercises, meditation, being kind to yourself so you can be kind to others, seeking help from a coach, counselor, or therapist, yoga, breathwork, and/or prayer. All of these are very effective in helping you manage fear, uncertainty, stress, and anxiety. Being the change means being proactive about attending to your well-being.
Make a choice
This isn’t about sticking your head in the sand. It’s about making a choice: do you want to raise the collective energy of anger, hate, and division, or do you want to raise the collective energy of love, compassion, and tolerance?
Of course, you can still check the news. It’s important to stay informed. But pay attention to how you feel in your body and the thoughts that arise in your mind when you read or watch the news before, during, and after. If it greatly affects you, consider making a conscious choice not to carry it with you throughout the day and spread it to those around you. It most likely will show up as feeling frustrated while driving, annoyed at the grocery store, avoiding friends and activities, picking fights with your partner, snapping at your kids, or feeling exhausted by the end of the day. These are all signs you are out of alignment with your heart center and it’s time to take a pause and attend to your energy. You can find your way back to love at any time you choose.
You are that powerful.
Stay informed about global events to make smart choices. Make donations whenever you can. Petition or show up for protests. Serve others. Show up with love and compassion. Spread kindness. Practice gratitude. Take effective action when guided. Do mindset work and regulate your emotions and nervous system? Feed the good. Look for the love. The choices are yours to make.
Anger without action is useless
Many people are angry at the changes going on today. They are angry about what’s being done and not being done politically, environmentally, etc. There is an increase in fear around these changes. Others are satisfied with the changes and hopeful. Same circumstances, different experiences. But no matter your perspective, many are feeling unsettled and uncertain.
Anger and frustration do not solve any problems if there is no aligned action to follow. Think about it. Sitting at home or work, walking around the grocery store, chatting with your friends, and sharing memes while feeling angry and fearful accomplishes absolutely nothing. Spreading this negative energy only adds to and creates more problems. Without action, it is only dimming your light and joy. Fear and anger can only be useful if you use them wisely and transform them into empowerment to take positive action. Otherwise, it only depletes and exhausts you.
The beautiful thing is you get to make that choice. And you won't get it right every time. That's ok. Perfection is an illusion. The moment you notice you are out of alignment with love, gently bring yourself back to the center by practicing your self-care routines. Remind yourself that what you focus on expands.
5 helpful ways to manage fear
1. Practice meditation
Meditation is an amazing way to settle an overactive and fearful mind. The practice brings you back to the present moment, where you are safe and well. There are many guided meditation apps and free sessions on YouTube. Here is one I share with my clients:
Sit with your hand on your heart and gently repeat to yourself: I choose to honor my feelings as valid right now. Breathe.
I choose to release all my anger, resentments & fear. I let them go with each breath and transform them into empowerment. Breathe.
I choose to see the light in the world and look for love intentionally. Breathe.
I choose to feed the collective energy of love and help raise the vibration on the planet. This matters. Breathe.
I listen to my intuition and trust I will know when and what actions to take. Breathe.
All I have now is the present moment. The present moment lives in my body and in my breath. I choose to focus on my breath now.
Take three deep breaths and repeat these mantras until you feel your body relaxing and your mind beginning to settle.
2. Deliberately look for the good
Many positive things are happening in our world that are not considered newsworthy by our mainstream news outlets. I love to follow Upworthy on Instagram and often find myself tearing up over the good deeds people do! There are so many good people doing good things. Pay attention to your community and all the people volunteering. These are the types of things that will feed your soul and remind you of all the love in the world.
3. Follow neutral news sources
If you follow only one news source, you are guaranteed to be fed bias. I personally love to follow Sharon McMahon ( @SharonSaysSo ) on Instagram. She takes an event and shows you how the headline and content are twisted for each news source. She does a fantastic job staying neutral, non-emotional, and sticking to the facts. She also shares the many ways you can donate, sign petitions, contact your representatives, and get your voice heard. It’s a great way to stay informed without dimming your light.
4. Use social media consciously
Bringing mindfulness to the content and memes you share on social media will help shift your energy. Many will argue they are spreading awareness when they are actually contributing to division. Before posting, consider asking yourself: does sharing this accomplish anything? Will this change anyone’s mind or contribute to concrete solutions and fuel action? Or is it just feeding the anger and fear? Only you get to decide how you want to show up on social media, no judgment here. The energy you align with on social media is the energy you are inviting into your being, sharing in your home and with loved ones.
Be choosy about who you follow on social media. You can change your algorithm by only clicking on the content that brings you joy. For example, I love to follow dogs, inspirational quotes, and Rumi poems. So I only click on these reels or anything similar and quickly swipe past the rest. The algorithm changes very quickly, and before you know it, you will only see the content that lights you up.
5. Consider a media cleanse
Taking a day or two, or even more, off social media and news sources does a world of good to recenter yourself. Trust you won’t miss anything important. You could even ask a friend to let you know if anything imperative comes up.
Your light matters
Energy is contagious. It spreads as quickly as a virus. By choosing to shift your energy from negative to positive, you are choosing how you affect everyone around you. This isn’t to say you won’t have negative emotions. Of course, you will! You’re human, not a robot. It’s about becoming aware of your energy and learning how to process negative emotions so you can bring yourself back to love, which is your true essence.
Feeling overwhelmed by global events?
Book a free session with Lisa today to receive compassionate support.
Read more from Lisa Hansen
Lisa Hansen, Life Coach, Conscious Parenting Coach & Spiritual Mentor
Lisa Hansen has over 20 years of experience as a Life and Mindset Coach, Conscious Parenting Coach, and Spiritual Mentor. She believes anyone is capable of manifesting the life they truly want to be living, whether it’s to feel a greater sense of purpose, earn more money, improve their relationships, or become a more peaceful parent. Her passion is empowering women to live confidently, intuitively, and authentically. She helps her clients shed self-limiting beliefs, end self-sabotage, overcome their inner critic, and transform their lives into one full of self-love, self-acceptance, and empowerment.
