Life is absolutely crazy sometimes, isn’t it? One day you’re waking up feeling so grateful for everything around you, and the next a worldwide pandemic hits, flipping your little world (and the entire world) upside down. Not to mention all of the other scenarios, events, and phases we have to also worry about. So, how do we keep sense of calm and stay sane no matter the situation we are faced with? I mean, is it even really possible?

I’m not going to give a long lecture on self-care, even though I could. It would all probably be stuff that you’ve already heard or that you’ve read somewhere else. What I want to share with you is a way to manage stress and anxiety just by doing one. simple. thing.

ZOOM OUT.

So often, when we are in a stressful situation or season in our lives, we are IIIINNNN that event. We can easily become consumed by it as we worry and “what if” for hours at a time. And sometimes, situations and seasons can really be that hard. I’m not hear to tell you that it isn’t.

But, sometimes, we worry and put ourselves through situation after situation, when nothing has even happened yet. We think of every possible bad outcome, and we live it in our mind. We experience all of the anger & sadness without even knowing whether it’s justified. And slowly but surely, this becomes a habit.

Overthinking.

Overanalyzing.

Overdramatizing.

You are living with your mind’s camera zoomed in on that one event. And you are zoomed in so closely that you cannot see any of the people, places, or things that are around. It’s like having a great view while visiting an amazing beach — but you are so zoomed in on one grain of sand that you don’t see the rest of the beach, the ocean, or the beautiful sunset.

When you find yourself caught up in a negative moment, I want to challenge you to take a moment, take a breath, and ZOOM OUT.

Here’s an example of what I mean, and, if you’re a parent, you might be able to relate to this. Your child is not doing well in math. She takes it seriously enough, does most of her homework, and passes tests. But overall, her grade is not great.

You tell her that she needs to get her math grade up before the quarter ends or you’ll cancel the pool party that she’d been planning for the last day of school. Time passes, and she brings home a math test.

She got a Big. Fat. F.

Now, you are livid because she didn’t do what you asked her to do. That anger grows as you realize that you’ll have to cancel the party, and you’d already bought decorations and ordered all the food. What a waste of money!

Anger spirals into anxiety as you begin to realize how disappointed all the kids are going to be…and…oh no! What will their parents think?!

That thought morphs your anxiety into guilt because you are a terrible mother who can’t even help her daughter with her math.

In a matter of 2 minutes, you’ve allowed this failing grade to take you from anger to anxious, and from anxious to guilt. Now breathe!

ZOOM OUT!

What if you just calmly ask your daughter about the grade and empathize with how she must feel knowing that she let you down?

Breathe. Zoom out.

What if you find out that she studied and studied, and she really thought she knew it?

Breathe. Zoom out.

What if she tells you that she even went to tutoring during lunch?

Breathe.

Breathe.

Zoom out.

Now instead of looking at the situation with anger, anxiety, and guilt, you can understand the situation and see that there just might be a bigger problem than the grade itself. And you can react empathy and compassion to work toward a solution.

How different would that feel?

Believe me, it takes time and practice!! There’s no magic wand.

How much more productive would you be in LIFE if you just took a moment to ZOOM OUT?