March 9th, 2018
The Antidote To Despair
When you feel overcome by despair, remember this simple 4 step process.
Curiosity --> Creativity --> Hope --> Gratitute
It can be hard to paint a rosy picture about the future (or present), when we are in a start of emotional distress. But we can start by getting curious about our feelings, thoughts, and the situation at hand.
It is important that we do not stay stuck in this step, however, as rumination and over-analysis are not the goal.
The next step is Creativity. Rather than allowing the problem or worry or mood's inertia keep you stuck, commit to creatively brainstorming and problem solving from an empowered stance (even if the solution you come up with is acceptance).
Next comes Hope (which, in my experience, can come before and/or after gratitude - it depends on the context and on the person). The Creativity step has primed you for this step because it has allowed you to appreciate that there are options. This step is also aided in the awareness and acknowledgement of the fact that nothing in life is permanent - no situation, thing, thought, or feeling lasts forever and what you are going through right now will pass. Though it may seem tempting to skip this step - DON'T! Hope is both indispensable to and fortifying for our survival.
Finally, there is Gratitude. Not just for the things that are to come and for great things that were, but for things just as they are RIGHT NOW. This may seem crazy when you are in a state of despair, but the reality is that there are ALWAYS and INFINITE number of things to be grateful for in the present moment, and this is true for EVERY SINGLE PERSON. It might take some effort to identify these things, but with time gratitude can become infinite. I encourage you to be as specific and unambiguous as possible with your gratitudes, as this has been shown to be most effective.
The great thing about these steps is that they provide something of a positive feedback loop: when we are practicing GRATITUDE, we get CURIOUS about more things to be grateful for. This in turn feeds CREATIVITY, which goes on to foster HOPE.
The Antidote To Despair
When you feel overcome by despair, remember this simple 4 step process.
Curiosity --> Creativity --> Hope --> Gratitute
It can be hard to paint a rosy picture about the future (or present), when we are in a start of emotional distress. But we can start by getting curious about our feelings, thoughts, and the situation at hand.
It is important that we do not stay stuck in this step, however, as rumination and over-analysis are not the goal.
The next step is Creativity. Rather than allowing the problem or worry or mood's inertia keep you stuck, commit to creatively brainstorming and problem solving from an empowered stance (even if the solution you come up with is acceptance).
Next comes Hope (which, in my experience, can come before and/or after gratitude - it depends on the context and on the person). The Creativity step has primed you for this step because it has allowed you to appreciate that there are options. This step is also aided in the awareness and acknowledgement of the fact that nothing in life is permanent - no situation, thing, thought, or feeling lasts forever and what you are going through right now will pass. Though it may seem tempting to skip this step - DON'T! Hope is both indispensable to and fortifying for our survival.
Finally, there is Gratitude. Not just for the things that are to come and for great things that were, but for things just as they are RIGHT NOW. This may seem crazy when you are in a state of despair, but the reality is that there are ALWAYS and INFINITE number of things to be grateful for in the present moment, and this is true for EVERY SINGLE PERSON. It might take some effort to identify these things, but with time gratitude can become infinite. I encourage you to be as specific and unambiguous as possible with your gratitudes, as this has been shown to be most effective.
The great thing about these steps is that they provide something of a positive feedback loop: when we are practicing GRATITUDE, we get CURIOUS about more things to be grateful for. This in turn feeds CREATIVITY, which goes on to foster HOPE.
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