Strength Training for Times of Crises

1. Cultivate gratitude as a grounding strength. The more you appreciate everything you have as a temporary gift, the more realistic your expectations. You build resilience and latitude, responding nimbly when challenged. Furthermore, gratitude helps you respond from a perspective of creative abundance, not rigid scarcity. Exercise: Every day, write down 3 things you are grateful for. See how this enhances your perspective and flexibility when problems arise.

2. Activate your awareness. Accepting life's uncertainty enhances alertness. The sooner you spot a shift in circumstances, the more time you gain to strategize. Exercise: Practice picking up subtle cues from your surroundings. What do they tell you about what may arrive on your doorstep? It is particularly helpful to identify new patterns of change as they emerge. Some signal important new developments. Others may highlight strengths and weaknesses in how you and others first react to unexpected challenges. You can develop and direct your strengths to meet these "moving targets" of upcoming transitions.

3. Learn how to fall. Everybody falls sometimes. Not everybody gets back up. Practice helps! Learn how to hit the ground while protecting yourself in the process. Identify your flexible strengths. Compassion? Resourcefulness? Humor? Faith? Grit? How do they provide a cushion for you? Exercise: Quickly list what time choices can best help you absorb the impact if you are confronted with a crisis, and what activities and commitments must be safeguarded at all cost. Rehearse and visualize your optimal responses, committing them to memory.

4. Relax on cue. Not easy in a crisis, but then, that's why you need to practice! Bracing yourself compounds the impact of any shock. Exercise: Notice where you tense up throughout the day. Practice relaxing through breathing, centering your thoughts, and lowering reactivity, so you can remain alert. The more automatic you make this, the more naturally you can access this skill when you need it most.

5. Decide where to fall. Sometimes, a fall is inevitable. If you automatically tense and hang on until the last minute, you forfeit the chance to land on the softest ground. Visualize letting go. Exercise: Again, cultivate foresight. Apply the lessons you learn from the previous exercises to create contingency plans for different scenarios. What are you ready to give up or trade in for more peace of mind?

These are not exercises in pessimism. On the contrary, they are invitations to cultivate strengths that enhance your quality of life every day, even when all goes according to plan. By living more consciously and deeply, you live more in the moment. And that is the best time management possible.

So, how can you use your time to live your best life?