by Gizelle McBride | Oct 30, 2021

So, where do we even begin as it pertains to such a loaded topic? Shall we start with the showing up part, the chaos, or both?

I think we can all agree that the world is just a chaotic place to be right now. Where uncertainty, pain, and an attempt to divide and conquer have threatened the very quality of our daily existence and life as we know it. Where our wits are challenged and our faith is tested when all we are trying to do is just live. On top of all of this, we are encouraged to stay indoors and avoid all human contact, going against the very behaviors that are vital to our social and emotional health. All as we attempt to navigate and adapt to a new way of living with no promise of an ending in sight.

Our government is doing what it does, we’re still asking for the same old concessions, our friends are suffering, loved ones are dying, jobs are scarce, cash is dwindling, anxiety is high, relationships are being pushed to the max, and some of us are just downright frozen with shock and fear; unable to do much more than exist. Yet even in all this, I am here to remind you that there is a bright side to it all —> we are getting stronger.

As each day passes, we can only hope and pray that the next day will be better than the last. We can only hope that someday soon things will get back to normal. But, what is normal in this given moment and how do we show up to the world and ourselves when everything feels so chaotic and abnormal? How do we look chaos in the eye and see it as an opportunity to help us advance into the greatest version of our true and authentic selves?

We work to elevate our mindset.

When it comes to swimming in chaos, trust and believe that I am no stranger to the notion. I’ve had quite a few deep dives of my own and have copped a few medals to prove it. I also know that while swimming in chaos isn’t fun and can be downright stressful, it also represents our greatest opportunity for learning, strengthening, and conditioning of the body and mind so that when we do emerge from these chaotic moments, we emerge anew as a greater version of ourselves that we’ve not yet seen or experienced. The key, however, is to stay alive and healthy throughout this transformative process, even if it feels like you’re going to drown.

Don’t Give Up, Show Up.

Personally speaking, I don’t care how crazy life gets. As long as I’m breathing and able to see another day it’s still a fair fight. We may cry, be rawfully human, and we may even make a mistake or two, but if we continue to show up to the chaos with our heads held high we have already won half the battle.

Showing up and making it a practice to consider our most difficult moments of crisis as hands-on opportunities will only take us to new heights, but we should also leave room for grace and mistakes. It took me years of practice to learn how to implement an elevated way of thinking that would transmute my troubles. But as time, my career, and the sum of life’s experiences continued to progress, I began to see how the tactics I’d learned in my own moments of chaos had become newly developed cross-functional skills that I could take with me into any space I choose. A universal code if you will, I learned how to marry the parallels of life’s experiences to extrapolate solutions and strategies that could be applied to current situations despite situational variables. Thus, it is my hope to utilize this piece to share some of what I’ve personally learned about showing up to life confidently. Even when it feels like all of the sh*** has hit the fan.

Defining chaos.

Webster’s dictionary defines chaos in two ways that I find of particular interest:

(1) A state of utter confusion and a confused mass or mixture.

(2) A state of things in which chance is supreme, the confused unorganized state of primordial matter before the creation of distinct forms, and the inherent unpredictability in the behavior of a complex natural system.

So, we have a single definition that not only speaks to the state of confusion and the unknown, but also speaks to the state in which we have the greatest opportunity to flip the script and change what is into what is brand new.

To me, this means that while chaos doesn’t necessarily coincide with our human comforts and desires that all be grand and well, it is a space from which one can extract new tools to create something great out of a state of disorganized ambiguity. The ability to create something out of nothing if you will. This is where we get into the practices of transmutation and alchemy, i.e., the art of changing something that is perceived to be negative into something positive and good.

It all begins with mastering the mind.

I want to reiterate the importance of maintaining our mindset by independently choosing viewpoints that help rather than hinder us. The most important first step to getting a handle on trying times begins with self-awareness. Once we can understand ourselves objectively and know our natural state of being (i.e., how we naturally react when things get crazy), we can consciously alter how we respond and show up to life in the moment, thus altering the condition of the outcome and turning the experience into something that benefits and makes us stronger.

Enduring chaos.

Showing up to chaos is one thing but enduring it is another. There are certain practices that we can implement in our daily lives to help us be better equipped to handle chaotic times when they do show up. This isn’t by any means an exhaustive list but you get the gist. ;-)

Keep track of your thoughts and adjust them accordingly.
Stay active and conditioned for life’s challenges. Keep your body moving, your diet on point, and exercise to strengthen the body and mind.
Have a pre-planned strategy for addressing life’s problems and ask for support where you need it.
When a chaotic event ensues, don’t react, relax. Identify the real threat and assess the environment before jumping to conclusions.
To solve problems quickly, gather your facts and match them with prior learnings from your toolbox of experience. Seek to solve with what you already know first.
Stay positive and don’t hyperfocus on the negative. New opportunities, new learnings, and new ways to solve old problems should always be the main focus when things get crazy.
Implement a healthy way to stay focused on high-payoff tasks even when things seem chaotic.
Keep numbers 1 and 2 on repeat by staying diligent about your self-care routine, water/food intake, and exercise regimen.
Stack and pray every day. That includes stacking what you have learned/are learning in the midst of stacking your paper.
Rest.

Let’s navigate and elevate together.

Showing Up in the Midst of Chaos

Don’t Give Up, Show Up.