Yes. Today we’re going to talk about turbulence. How are you doing? Really, how are you doing?

I remember actually my very first class in college at the University of Texas, the very first thing that ever came out of a professor’s mouth was in a sociology class. And she talked about how people answer the question, “How are you doing?” with the word “fine.”

What I know for sure is that life is turbulent. So I want to talk about turbulent times. Many of my clients are going through amazing times, but a lot of them are also going through turbulent times. And so today’s episode, I have six ways for you to manage and support yourself during turbulent times. Because I know often, especially if you are like me and you’re working behind the computer. And yes, you’re connecting with people online, occasionally you’re connected with people offline. But it’s so easy for our brain to make up that everybody is just happy-go-lucky and living this really curated, beautiful life. And the thing is it is curated. It is not all of their life. So there’s often so much going on underneath what we are seeing in the online world.

And I know we know that. When you stop and think about it, you realize people are only sharing what they want to share and that we can often get caught in the trap of comparing our insides to other people’s outsides. I do it often. And, I want us all to begin to think about life differently. So I’m going to say something controversial here.

I’ve probably said it before, but life is not all happy, and life is kind of a both/and thing. So on one hand life is both amazing and wonderful, and what we choose it to be. And, life can also be really shitty.

This is not about complaining, it’s not about being a victim, but we are human beings. And for way too many years, I would use positivity to bypass, and spirituality to bypass difficult times. So today, we’re going to be talking about turbulence. What I am learning over the last four years is the more that I know how to handle difficult times and difficult emotions, the easier it for me to feel better, right? So this is the Better Life Better Work Show.

I do know that in every coaching session I’ve ever had, at the end of the day, if I were to drill down to my client’s motives, every single one. And we’re talking thousands y’all, thousands, and thousands, and thousands. I have over 30,000 hours of coaching. And each individual, if we were to really drill it down, would tell me that they want to feel better. They want better life and better work, and to feel better. It sounds so simple, but think about it, right? There’s nothing wrong with feeling better.

So let’s talk about turbulence.

 

#1 Life is awesome, and life is also shitty

I have a mentor that used to say life is 50% awesome and 50% shit. And a lot of people really thought she was being negative. What I love is she was being true. No matter how positive and happy you are, if someone you love unexpectedly dies, that feels like shit for a period of time.

We are not living in La La Land, and I love the days and the times when things feel good. But the reality is the human experience is fraught with both beauty and terror intertwined.

I had a girlfriend that had a disabled child, and they use that phrase beauty and terror intertwined. It was like, “We love our child. There’s so much beauty in this journey, but there is also terror in this.” And yes, they had an extreme case. But you guys, every single one of you listening probably has something in your life. Something that brings an element of difficulty. And I have found that bypassing those difficulties is more harmful than helpful. So the first thing is just to acknowledge that turbulence exists.