If you’re an optimistic like myself, you’ll immediately say opportunity. But what if you’re facing a really big crisis? How to stay positive and optimistic in the face of what seems tragedy to you? Let’s analyze in this post personal crisis, like identity ones.
Not to remind you of a great financial collapse, but the word crisis comes from the Greek word krisis, which actually means growth. Interesting perspective? Think about it: all of mankind’s greatest evolutions came from a crisis. Don’t believe me? Think about the Middle Ages, such a dark period in time, right? How did we evolve from it? Well basically through the black plague which wiped out a third of the European population and the 100 year war between France and England. What good came out of it? We have the millions of deaths to be sorry for that’s true, but this particular crisis enabled us to leave the dark ages and change our political and economic system as well it provided an opportunity for development in arts and science.
What does that have to do with personal crisis?
The glass is always half full with me. Please forgive me for being an incurable optimistic. A crisis can be a time to explore new options and reinvent yourself, finding meaning and purpose in your life. Have you always felt like something was missing? Now is the time to dig back into your memory and re-examine that long lost project or idea. Or who knows? Maybe you’ll even find a new calling in life. A more fulfilling and satisfying one. And maybe all the excuses that have kept you postponing your life projects and dreams will just fade away and nothing more will hold you back.
Scary how a world of possibilities just pops up like that, right?
How can you stay strong in the face of crisis?
- Nothing lasts forever. This should be your main line of thought. Things may seem awful today, but tomorrow an opportunity might present itself.
- Crisis are opportunities to make changes. Sometimes we’re just too comfortable in our lives and are afraid to lose the status quo and live a bit frustrated for not fulfilling our dreams. What happens when you no longer have those excuses? It’s time to take chances because there’s not much more to lose and everything to gain.
- Keep your mind open to new possibilities. The world isn’t black and white, we have to be able to see the greys, the in-betweens.
- Don’t let your fear of the unknown get the best of you. When we leave our comfort zone we feel unsafe, unprotected, we fear what might happen. But that fear isn’t most the times rational. The unknown is not necessarily a dark and gloomy one.
- Take some time to think your life through. And to re-assess your priorities, to trace new paths, to explore new options, to allow yourself a new chance at doing things in a different way.
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/federicoravassard/8568683430
