well I have a job in a few months can I afford my rent or mortgage will my
family be okay these are all questions driving the state of uncertainty we are
living in and in this video you will learn four proven ways to keep calm and
thrive when times get tough
I'm Riaz Meghji, founder of the every conversation counts platform for a
weekly content on the power of human connection and how you can make every
conversation count subscribe to the channel and hit the bell so you get
notified when a new video is released now psychologists say uncertainty is
hard because our human nature craves predictability and if we don't know when
an uneasy face is going to come to an end or emotions can run high
we're reluctant to trust others and the hardest part can be that we have little
control over the outcome so yes uncertainty is specific to the person
and can be difficult yet it can also provide the opportunity for fundamental
change and these four tips will help you stay cool under pressure a good starting
point is to help reframe our focus from fear to hope and Martin Seligman the
director of the positive psychology center of the University of Pennsylvania
has a great exercise to help us recalibrate our thoughts he calls it put
it in perspective and the process is broken down into four steps step 1 ask
yourself what is the worst possible scenario and let's be honest our mind is
going to go there when things go sideways step 2 ask yourself what's the
best possible scenario and this will involve a lot of what-if questions
step 3 involves what's most likely to happen and then step 4 devising a game
plan for the most realistic scenario now all of these circumstances will be
specific to the individual but we could be asking questions like if you're sick
what will your family do if you have to stay at home do you have enough supplies
and if your health risk is high who is there to step in and help the goal here
and the big idea is the shift all of that anxious energy into rational
thinking that will help you tackle tasks at hand out of all of the people I
have ever interviewed the one question that would help foster trust in
connection was this what are you struggling with there is nothing more
powerful and engaging than real and raw struggle and by revealing your struggle
in your conversation you make that conversation that much more authentic
and allow people to understand what your priorities are now I know what you're
thinking well how do I earn that trust so people share their struggle with you
well we talk about that a lot in the previous video having better
conversations but I can tell you this is your opportunity to lead with
value-added vulnerability and the struggle is key look.we us as humans we
are creatures of connection but we're also creatures of purposeful narratives
and if you look at the most impactful narratives and stories it's broken down
into three parts struggle conflict and resolution so share that struggle it'll
allow you to practice being courageous you might find relief and knowing that
you're not alone with your struggle but above all people will appreciate that
vulnerability you're sharing and you might find that they end up rooting for
you in the end this next step is easy to forget when
we're overpowered by the stress of the unknown we have faced uncertainty before
think about the market crash in 2009 maybe you went through a tough job
layoff a tough breakup no toilet paper at the grocery store we've been through
it now the psychological concept of hindsight bias states that we tend to
create false narratives that everything in our past was certain when in reality
it was once uncertain and it's important to recognize this bias because it can
get in the way from us learning from our experiences the best way to overcome it
well according to researchers at the association of psychological science
they encourage others to reflect on what could have happened if you didn't take
action when you look at these scenarios and take time to reflect on how you
battled uncertainty in the past write those things down so when doubt starts
to creep back in you can review those notes and help boost your confidence
hope you've enjoyed these tips let me know in the comments below how you keep
your cool in the face of uncertainty final tip and this is just kind of a
final thought that sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the mindset that
life gets better by adding more a bigger house maybe it's more access a new pair
of shoes but if we were to really ask people what is the most important thing
to you the answer more often than not will probably be family and friends and
sometimes busy schedules get in the way but how could your life look if we could
simplify things and do more with less maybe it's cancelling a Netflix
subscription dare I say it removing the clutter from your place to
help clear your mind or removing a limiting belief that that book you
always wanted to write is out of reach if in this time we could focus on
subtraction we can start creating an environment of freedom and creativity
that could help us keep our cool and thrive in the face of uncertainty
hopefully you found these tips helpful for more ideas on the power of human
connection be sure to download the free guide the 5 secrets to making every
conversation counts you can find it at the link and the description below
thanks for watching this video for more ideas on having better conversations and
overcoming conflict in your relationships be sure to check out these
videos subscribe to the channel and hit the bell so you get notified when a new
video is released every Tuesday I'll see you in the next video