“With Everything Going on in the World Right Now:” The Need for Perspective

“With everything going on in the world right now,” is a phrase that I hear almost daily when working with my clients recently. Whether it's a caveat for the condition of their mental health or an explanation for whether or not to make big life decisions, it’s a big blanket that’s stitched together with “life is hard for reasons outside of my control,” fabric. It makes sense that the conditions of society are universally stressful and even catastrophic. There is so much uncertainty that it can become paralyzing. Even beyond uncertainty is rage, despair and terror about the ways our government is conducting itself, and how people are reacting and being impacted. There are news articles being published about what seems like every thought the administration has regardless of whether it’s acted upon or not. This volume of information is overwhelming and exhausts our emotional bandwidth. If you relate to the feeling of being completely flooded, lit on fire with anger, and paralyzed with uncertainty, when it comes to the political landscape, or fearing the state of society at large, I have a few thoughts for you to consider. 

Examine your relationship with information

We live in the age of information. We have so much information around us all the time, and it will never consider your limits. Think of information the way you think of food. We need food, just like we need information. Just because we need it doesn’t mean we need it all the time. There are many things to consider when it comes to food. We consider the quantity of food, the types of food, the mood we’re in. Most importantly, we allow food time to digest before we consume more food. This is a good metaphor to consider when it comes to consuming information and certainly the news. Ask yourself how much you have capacity for, what mood you’re in and how information might impact you, what type of information you need and where to get it, and how well have you processed the last bits of information you consumed. Paying attention to your information diet is a great place to start.

Develop your own unique perspective, for it’s truly all you have

I have been reminded often of the book “A Man’s Search for Meaning,” where Victor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, reflects on his time in WWII concentration camps. One of his most famous quotes is this: 

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” 

If you feel that the news, or anything else for that matter is colonizing your mind, this is a powerful reminder that your mind is yours, and no one else’s. When you take back control of your perspective, you will be a steady force for change. Let me explain. If you were to tell yourself, “hmm I don’t like what I just heard or read, let me spend some time with that,” or “I’m really upset about the meaning I’m putting on this piece of information, but I’m working on a reframe,” you become grounded and in control of your thoughts. You become connected to yourself and your meaning making abilities. In this state, you will be able to answer a call to action from confidence and stability rather than a reactionary place whether that be anger or hopelessness.

Let me be clear that a call to action does not necessarily mean that you have to become a political activist, and begin confronting your political adversaries. A call to action might show up like sharing your perspective taking process with a friend and inviting them to do the same, volunteering for a cause you care about, creating and sharing art or food that’s comforting, or sitting in on a town council meeting. These are all worthy calls to action that will contribute to bettering society. In addition to feeling grounded in your world view, you will also relate differently to the hardship that you fear. Here’s Victor Frankl again: 

“ Once an individual’s search for meaning is successful, it not only renders him happy, but also gives him the capability to cope with suffering.” 

I would add that the search for meaning is continuous and evolves with you throughout life. The more comfortable and committed you are to that process, the more resilient you will be in the face of hardship and the more good you will be capable of contributing to the world.

Get outside of your comfort zone on your terms

We can easily trick ourselves into thinking that everything outside of our comfort zone is bad because of how much energy we spend trying to avoid it. Remember that it is discomfort precisely that makes our comforts comfortable. That inherently makes it valuable, not to mention that there is often strength, new experiences, and wisdom waiting for us outside of our comfort zones. My partner recently started taking military showers, where you shut the water off to suds up, and then turn it back on to rinse. It seems such a small thing, but it has given the gift of perspective over and over again. The chill of the shower when the water is shut off makes the warm water even more luxurious when it’s back on. Challenge yourself to see where you can make yourself uncomfortable, or experience the lack of something so that you can build both a greater tolerance for hardship and also greater appreciation for life as you know it. When we can create hardship autonomously, it will make it easier to withstand and rise above the hardship that we didn’t ask for.

Find Joy

I promise you that if you unsubscribe from the news a bit, and spend more time curating your own lens, you will not become ignorant or misinformed. The news is everywhere, you can’t escape it for better or worse. Also, if you end up being told that you’re misinformed about something at some point, no problem. Thank them for the feedback and pivot if needed. You are not insensitive to the people who have it worse than you if you are to look for and experience joy. You can absolutely be sensitive and informed about other people’s hardship while not allowing that to overcrowd your mind. Please find joy. Even better if it’s in the simple things. I remember a stressful time in my life where I hadn’t felt joy in far too long. I ran out of deodorant, and at the store I decided to try a new scent. I picked up a green tea  lavender scented deodorant and joy had found me again. I was so excited to purchase that deodorant and smell like that every day. Don’t underestimate how impactful a tree in bloom, a cup of tea, or a corny joke can be in bringing you back to the gift of being a human. Yes, things are hard. Yes we don’t know what the future holds. Yes, there is always hardship ahead in varying degrees. Also, yes, there will still be beauty, love, family, friendship, kindness, and yes, we can handle it. Humans have already handled the most unbearable and excruciating hardship in history and we will do it again. It’s true that some of the most inspiring examples of storytelling, community, and collective action have been born out of hardship. Life is a constant moving and evolving thing. Don’t put your life on pause for the government to improve. Don’t turn a blind eye because you don’t think you can handle the state of the world either. Find a place in the middle that is authentic to you. With everything going on in the world right now, it’s imperative that you do. 

Janessa Cole MA LPC