The saying to travel through troubled waters is a metaphor for our day-to-day life. Sailors would go out to sea and would get some big waves caused by the weather or simply by the changing tides. The sailor has two choices when faced with troubled waters. Those choices are to sink or get through the waves.  Now, I am sure that most sailors do not want to sink even though that may be the outcome, but that is life for you. Sometimes life will not go as planned and not give you what you want. The times we are living in at this moment are the same as those troubling waters. In this blog, I want to speak on these troubling times and how to get through these troubled waters.

No one person can fully comprehend the severity of what is going on in your mind except you. I can be as cool as a cucumber, but inside I can be having a battle with myself on what to do next. I am faced with the question from many of my clients, “How can I stay positive when everything I know is changing, and my world is falling apart?”. I wish I could say to believe and keep the faith, but that is not enough. Faith will not put food on your table or pay your mortgage on time. You need to take the correct action in order to stay afloat. We are in a predicament where even though we are willing to do what is needed, we cannot because we are locked in our homes. The government shuts our world down, and due to that, people are losing more than just their jobs, safety, and positivity.

The power of positivity is great, but you have to believe. In these trying times, it is easy to lose faith and your footing along the journey. We all were affected by the epidemic that is spreading across the globe. It sounds silly for me to tell people to be positive when things are going OK for me. The reason is not that I am better than anyone else; it is how I treat my mindset. When I am faced with adversity and trying times, I either conquer them, or I pivot. When I lost work because of the quarantine, I did not panic. I told myself, “OK, what’s your next move?” That was all I needed to take matters into my own hands. I am the captain of my ship. Who is your captain of yours?

When people are in troubled waters, they allow fear to be the captain. They allow worry and negativity to be the sails. These thoughts and feelings weigh down your life unnecessarily. In order to survive and come out ahead of this storm, you must remain light and on your toes. You cannot just let the days go by until the government tells you it is safe to resume your life. You CAN NOT put your life on hold for anyone. How can you become a better person today? How can you steer your ship to get out of this storm? What actions can you take today to make your tomorrow a better day? That is what I tell my clients. Though it may be hard to see the finish line, I can guarantee you it is there. You just have to keep moving.

Fear will stop you quicker in your tracks than any virus or sickness ever will. People are no longer worried about their retirement or their vacation home but rather worried about how they will remain healthy. Fear is dangerous because it can cause people to become irrational and impulsive. This goes beyond being materialistic. This can be due to duty or commitments you have made or must make because of your role. You might be a parent with children who need to eat, learn, and stay healthy/safe. Now, you are no longer in this for yourself. Those children are also your responsibility and obligation, but fear does not need to be the driver of your life.

Adding fear into the mix of your life, goals, and obligations can be debilitating. You are frantically trying to make sure everything is OK while sacrificing yourself in order to do so. You make sure the people you love and care about are safe and continue to live in peace. These times are ripping away that peace regardless. We are confined in our homes, and we are trying to do what is best for the world, but that is only good for so long. Fear can only be backed in a corner for so long before it realizes how powerful it is. The media understands this very well. What they report can and will instill fear into you. At this point, you have to decide how you act and what to believe.

Knowing the correct actions/tactics you need to take back control of will be essential. Right now, our level of action has dropped severely. People are stuck at home watching television, over-eating, and playing games. With moderation, these are not bad things. Well, that moderation is gone, and the new norm is to stay home and binge-watch entire series on television. Again, there is a time and place for all of this, but our main goal should be what comes next. We are just sitting and waiting for Superman to come to save us when in reality, we are the hero we need.

Today, we will begin to take back control of our life in these uncertain times. How can we prepare for our tomorrows and life after this quarantine? The two things you will need to have are experience and a plan for what’s next. The importance of experience is that sometimes failure can be your best teacher. If I look back at my teen years and count all the failures I had, it was because of a lack of experience. We are thrown into this world screaming and crying, and at some point in our life, we think we know everything (Teen hood). It took me losing my pride and learning to be humble to get myself on the path I needed. While on that path, I learned many more lessons, more setbacks, and learned what to do next.

There is no turning back now. We are in the storm, and we are the captain of our ship. I will assume that if you are here reading this blog, you are interested in what to do next. The answer is how to make yourself bulletproof (in a sense). This is where the power of positivity comes into effect. Many people are losing their jobs and their livelihood. They are getting hit again and again with more troubles than I would wish on any person. However, what are they doing to fight back? What are they learning in this situation? The only thing you have to do to be positive in a rough patch of your life is to say these magic words, Next time. These words will help you to look at the future from a positive perspective. It allows you to give up what you cannot control and put the power into what you can control.

Next time, when the world is on fire, will you be ready to douse the flames of chaos? You now have some experience, which is another great teacher under your belt. You can now begin the process of preparing for the rainy days or the winter months. Hopefully, you learned that living day to day and not taking full control of your life could be detrimental to your mindset and livelihood. There is nothing we can do about our past, so let it be the teacher we need to make our Next time the right time. Your ship may sink in these coming months, but there is nothing stopping you from getting another shot sailing the sea. Fear might be in your mind and heart, but it will not make your next time the best time. The life you dream of can be yours, but you have to take the steps needed to get there.

In closing, life can be unpredictable. Everything can go as you have planned, and then all of a sudden, your world is turned upside down. The route you were taking is no longer navigable, and you are left with no idea where to go next. Fear and despair do not feel good, so what can you do to make sure they do not enter your life without your consent? The answer is to remain positive in your future. Plan on your next move. Though it may be a temporary stride at this moment, it will give you the momentum you need to take off. Do your best right now to stay afloat and minimize damage until you can grab hold of life again and show it how powerful and intelligent you are. You are the captain of your ship and the wind in your sails, and no amount of troubled waters can deter you from your most sought destination/dreams.

Until then,

Michael Rearden

Founder of Reven Concepts