As a Stress Management Expert, I hear a lot of folks who are impacted negatively by the chaos they are facing and the energy they spend trying to navigate through it. A busy life or a big transition may inherently feel chaotic but the truth about chaos is that it can actually be a good sign for the coming changes and progress that you are moving through. Chaos is part of any change process.
The key to chaos is to learn how to ride the wave of chaos to conserve energy vs. resisting the chaos, which costs precious energy reserves.
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If you have ever gone body surfing or boogie boarding at the beach you may remember the energy boost you gain when you “catch the wave” as you glide into shore riding the wave. You know how it feels to float on top of the water with minimal effort. Alternatively, when you miss the wave, you will be tossed around, thrown off your board and likely end up with a mouth full of sand. This is how energy loss feels.
This is the same for the chaos in your life. There is a way to ride the chaos to arrive at a new place (habit, mindset, behavior pattern or project) with focus and intent to stay present, connected to your gut and out of your head so you can respond and problem solve. When you resist the chaos you can feel impacted by stress and feel like you are swirling around out of control being pommelled by the chaos because you are reacting and feeling triggered emotionally. If you are in your head and not present, you cannot problem solve effectively. This use of energy can be exhausting.
Chaos is an essential step any time you are creating change, moving through a transition or creating something new for yourself. You may feel it more as you get out of your comfort zone. Somewhere between leaving the old way and settling into the new way, you will meet the chaos of change. So the key is to meet the chaos so you can ride the wave and conserve your energy to reach the other side of change. Alternately, if you resist chaos and push against it, you will feel stuck and you will waste a lot of your precious energy. It will take you longer to move through the process of change.
The key to riding the wave of chaos and conserve your energy is to pause to catch a mindful moment. Take a breath to connect to your core (2-3 finger breadths below your naval), be present and RESPOND to the situation so you can effectively problem solve and contain your energy.
When you miss the mindful moment it’s like missing the curl of the wave. You will go into REACTION, stay in your head and emotions and not be able to problem solve effectively. It’s exhausting to resist the chaos of change.
When we avoid chaos, we miss the opportunity to grow and change into our new potential. When we resist chaos we waste a lot of energy to finally get to where we want to go. It’s like going to the beach and not getting into the water but standing on the shore and watching the waves come in vs. jumping in and riding the waves. When my clients complain about the chaos they experience as they re-wire their lifestyle, I always affirm to them that chaos is a strong sign for the progress they are making and to use stress resilience techniques to RESPOND when life gets chaotic to ride the wave and gain energy.
Sara Regester, Stress Management Expert is the creator of the “Turn Your Stress into Success” Programs and founder of www.Directions4Wellness.com
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