I have a habit of consuming too much daily news. I started noticing recently that the big ups and downs happening in the wider world were really influencing my mood and ability to focus. This slowly crept into my interactions at work and at home—and not for the better. As of late, I’ve been making an effort to find other activities and ways to combat the nagging urge to give into hopelessness and fear. The uncertainty of the world we live in is not something I can personally change or control, but there are small things I’ve started doing more regularly to ease my mind a bit, stay in the moment, and look toward resilience as an overall outlook rather than letting despair get the best of me. These suggestions are merely that, but I hope some of these ideas resonate with you. Every one of us deserves to feel whole, and sometimes small moments of intention can make a big difference in helping us rediscover joy.
Organize something or accomplish a task.
Taking control of something small helps us feel centered during times when things may feel very much out of control. I recently cleaned out a junk drawer and now periodically open it to admire my work. I had NO idea how much lifting that small burden made it easier to manage bigger burdens in my life. If checking something off your (never-ending) to-do list makes you feel good, then go get something done!
The task should be something easy, accomplishable in a reasonable amount of time, and perhaps something you’ve been avoiding or putting off. If it’s taking up real estate in your mind, it may also be taking away from your ability to feel joy or focus on other more important things. Maybe it’s deep cleaning your bathroom until it shines or making a mess in the kitchen while cooking your favorite meal. Have some thank-you cards waiting to be written and mailed since the new year? Get after it! Even if making your dream “to-do” list is the task, that is enough! No one is judging you or checking your work. This is 100% a thing you’re choosing to do for yourself. What are you putting off doing that can give you momentary focus and where you can see results from start to finish in a reasonable amount of time? You got this…now get going!
Sit with hard feelings.
Admittedly, I’m a “big feelings” person. This used to be something I was ashamed of, and I spent the better part of my younger years tamping down outbursts at all ends of the spectrum when my emotional pendulum swung too far in any given direction. It’s hard work fighting back feelings and not leaning into them fully. So, what if we just gave ourselves a chance to sit with them—however uncomfortable they may be?
I’d encourage you to try and sit with yourself and your feelings and just let yourself be, preferably in a space you consider emotionally safe. There doesn’t need to be order, rhyme, or reason. You don’t have to understand what’s happening. All you have to do is observe yourself. See if you can identify where you feel the feelings. Tight throat? Clamped jaw? White-knuckle fists? Are you breathing? There are no wrong answers, and you don’t necessarily even need to come up with any solutions unless you want to pursue something deeper. Just having this uncomfortable experience reminds us that we can still be “okay” even when we’re not okay. There’s nothing wrong with you, and no apology is needed for whatever feelings come up.
If you’re wanting a little more than uncomfortable observation, you can give yourself some options for processing through hard feelings. You can hit pause on the feelings if you need to compartmentalize and meet the demands of the day or complete a task. Give yourself permission to come back to those feelings later. Naming your feeling(s) is a great way to separate yourself from what you’re feeling. You are not your feelings, so this identification process can provide perspective. You also have a choice about whether you avoid, let go of, or lean into said feelings. You are not bound by feeling a certain way forever, and you can choose what direction you take next. You always have a choice if you allow yourself one.
Create a sensory experience.
It’s impossible to be in a constant enlightened state of balance between the mind and the body. I frequently “forget myself” despite my intellectual understanding of what may be going on in my brain and body during, say, a panic attack or a bout of negative self-talk. I think it’s normal and common, and frankly, it’s part of being human. But survival mode is hard to sustain long-term. So, how do we practice staying in the moment? One way that I’ve found to be incredibly effective is creating an intentional sensory experience for myself.
In my book, the merit of a coffee shop is measured by the quality of its dirty chai latte. I have a favorite near where I live, and it’s one of those places that provides the right kind of environment for me to create an intentional sensory experience—a.k.a. it has vibes. I ask myself some simple questions. How does the bean grinder sound? How does the coffee smell? How does it taste, look, feel? I can easily apply my five senses to the experience of drinking my favorite dirty chai. Remarkably, it is a great opportunity to ground myself, be in the moment, and put words to a tactile experience.
There are so many accessible ways to marry the intellectual with the tactile. I love hanging out with my toddler because the world is so new through his eyes. I imagine what is going through his mind when mulch gets stuck to his palm while he’s on the playground. (And, yes, he not only wants to touch and see it—he wants to smell and taste it, too…). I invite you to make time for an intentional sensory experience. Ask yourself to narrate what you are experiencing through your five senses. Truly being in the present moment provides a sense of calm when you’re feeling—literally—out of touch.
Move your body.
The opposite of stiffness is flow. If you’re feeling stuck or want to hide from the world, challenge yourself to do just the opposite—get up and move. There are infinite ways to move, so do whatever resonates with you. Strength training, running, biking, jogging, “shlogging” (or, shuffle-jogging, in my case), swimming, kayaking, hiking, climbing, surfing, walking, playing a sport, gymnastics, cartwheels, spaz dancing, spinning around in circles until you’re dizzy, yoga, tai chi, Pilates, you name it—if it’s something that moves your body, it counts! Sometimes you just have to make a choice to move and see how it makes you feel as a result.
Adopt a gratitude attitude.
“Chaining” is another psychological trap I find myself in when I’m worrying about the state of the world and its future. Chaining can start from any point, but it always ends the same. If I lose my job, I’ll be broke. If I’m broke, I won’t be able to pay my mortgage or buy groceries. If I don’t eat or have a place to live, I’ll starve and die. Death. Death is always at the end of the mental chaining game. It’s your brain’s alert system going off because it wants to survive, even when scarcity is not necessarily the reality.
When things feel out of your control, it’s still possible to intentionally take stock of the abundance in your life and express gratitude for it. In this moment, I have a roof over my head, a place to sleep, and food to eat. I have loved ones who care about me and support me. I have a job I enjoy that helps me earn enough to meet my needs. By taking stock of what is rather than what might be (mostly with a negative spin), you create an opportunity to express gratitude for the little things. And the little things add up.
If you’ve read this far, I thank you for humoring me. Know you’re not alone in whatever struggles you may be dealing with personally or as part of the fabric of humanity. None of the above ideas are new, but I have certainly needed a lot of reminders lately of how to rediscover joy. Keep building resilience for yourself. The best defense against chaos is a calmness from within.
Bio:
Laura Zabanal is based in Arlington, VA, where she serves as a Fife Instrumentalist in the U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. Prior to the Army, she taught music theory at VanderCook College of Music and flute at The People’s Music School in Chicago and has maintained a private studio for over a decade. She was also editor of the Chicago Flute Club Pipeline magazine in 2020. Laura worked with Katherine Emeneth as part of the KE Creative team for over two years as both a copy editor for the company and a career coach for music professionals. She enjoys working with people of all backgrounds and ability levels and is passionate about empowering others and building community.
As a music history enthusiast, Laura is a subject matter expert in her unit’s library, the Center for Martial Music, and she plays traverso in the Historical Flute Ensemble. She previously led the Collegium Musicum early music ensembles at Florida State University, where she aspired to instill an unwavering love of the crumhorn in peers and students alike.
Dr. Zabanal earned degrees from Penn State University (BM Flute, BA French, MM Flute) and Florida State University (DM Flute, MM Historical Musicology). She is continually grateful for her mentors, including Eva Amsler, Naomi Seidman, Eleanor D. Armstrong, and Sarah Eyerly.
When she’s not playing a stick with holes while wearing a tricorn, she is likely at the park with her family being her favorite version of herself of all time—a mom.