When We End Up In A Mud-fest, LET'S ROCK!

When We End Up In A Mud-fest, LET'S ROCK!

Mud-fests are enjoyable to talk about BUT for clarity, in our thread today, we'd like to see how do we handle things WHEN we're IN THE MUD but NOT from choice and NOT for playful acts.  YES, in the past, I've been IN THE MUD quite numerous times and I realized that I always had two options , namely to opt-out OR to opt-in.  When We End Up In A Mud-fest, LET'S ROCK!  While opting-out was an option, I realized that that is a loser's mindset, someone WHO loses the game by default with nary an effort exerted at all📗📙📘

You might ask, HOW often should we brace ourselves for getting embroiled in those MUD-fests in life?  I'd counsel that you hope and pray that it DOESN'T hit you BUT the harsh truth is, this will hit us all at some point[s] in our life.  I got hit, once, twice, thrice.  And you might ask, HOW WAS IT?  I'd say that definitely it was NO FUN but looking back, if it hits me hard again, I'm much more hardened and prepared to be much more resilient than I was😊😊😊

Sharing how I handled WHEN I was in the MUD:

• I had to face things up front, pull the bull by its horn
• I had to rope-in my support structure [I needed that]
• I had to listen to advice [as much as I had my own]
• i had to remain optimistic [based on my strengths]
• I had to be more resilient [than I was used to be]
• Regardless WHETHER you believe in God OR not, you got to have that rock-solid faith that you will weather that gathering storm at all cost

SO HOW, when we're IN THE MUD in life?

• First things first, your mindset is to eventually extricate yourself out of the MUD
• Secondly, summon all your strengths, including your capabilities yet untapped
• Thirdly, your end-result is to move forward.  NOT even the status quo is acceptable.
• If you're struggling with mental health like depression, even anti-depressants may help but only superficially, NOT until you could redirect your attention on something like getting engaged with a new hobby, skill or playing your favorite.  Otherwise, find out the relevant podcast you could get glued
• Remember unprecedented situations need unprecedented efforts from your end

Our takeaway:  Life is NEVER all rainbows and melodies.  Truth is, WHEN you're in that MUD IN LIFE, there is little time left for you to be wired on the internet or binged something on Netflix.  That recent Covid-19 pandemic is the most recent MUD IN LIFE where we all found ourselves all in the same boat.  Sadly, the weaker ones fell off by the wayside.  Bottomline here is that once we're IN THE MUD IN LIFE, your end-result is no less than to eke out yourself OUT OF THE MUD.  No mean feat BUT as they say, WHEN WE END UP IN A MUD-FEST, LET'S ROCK!!!

Are We Clutching On Straws When We Declare 'MAYDAY MAYDAY???

Are We Clutching On Straws When We Declare 'MAYDAY MAYDAY???

WHO says pilots have the monopoly to trigger MAYDAY calls?  NO sirrrrrs, we're entitled too as much as it seems that it's their own.  WHY?  Because at some point[s] in our lives, everyone of us were also hitting that rock bottom.  NO one is immune to hitting it, NOT even Elon Musk, the world's #1 billionaire.  Our HUGE MISS, really, is the misconception that calling MAYDAY is the domain of pilots.  Looking back, I'm cocksure many of us [and that includes moi in the past] DIDN'T handle our own 'rock bottoms' in the best way because even as we were Clutching On Straws, we failed to Declare 'MAYDAY MAYDAY❓❓❓

Looking back I realized that had I triggered MAYDAY calls in the past WHEN I was about to hit rock bottom, that could have made a world of difference [especially in the ultimate outcomes arising from those debacles].  BUT again, there's NO point crying on spilled milk.  We just need to move forward and this is WHERE we're pitching these MAYDAY calls. Misses are misses BUT it's NEVER late to clutch on straws as it's a MUST-DO [by then]!!!

You might ask, WHERE'S that 'world of difference',  It all starts with the most overused quote 'TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE'.  Pooling our efforts + focus together to frontally face a huge crisis can easily mean that you increased your resources [to face that huge crisis] by 100%, from you being a solitary figure to getting in tandem with your most trusted partner/colleague.  BUT you might challenge me that we have heard and read tons of aviation disasters WHERE the pilot did call MAYDAY but things still ended tragically.  YES that's very true because MAYDAY calls were NOT meant to guarantee extricating us from that MAYDAY crisis.  At the very least, it gives us that glimmer of hope, even if it's just improving our chances even by a measly 1%✅✅✅

Sadly, I've known and witnessed first hand people WHO we were in serious distress  BUT consciously did NOT want to raise a howl OR to call MAYDAY for reasons NOT articulated BUT if I may speculate, even as outliers, I'll guess that sometimes, 'bloated' or 'oversized' egos would come into play.  LIKE I can handle this.  LIKE I DON'T need anyone.  LIKE hey I survived before all by myself and I'll still survive now❌❌❌

Our takeaway:  The worst disservice we can give to our own self is to resist calling MAYDAY WHEN our back is against the wall.  At that point in time, let's throw away out the window any 'bloated' egos, erasing any past history of personal conflict, and hitting that RESET button [pronto and quick] because at that point in time, you are likely almost near ground-zero.  And we would realize that in those near-crisis situations, we would feel the clock is even ticking faster than it should.  So, ARE WE CLUTCHING ON STRAWS WHEN WE DECLARE 'MAYDAY MAYDAY'???

[Except for Force Majeure] Can Post-mortems Be Averted?

[Except for Force Majeure] Can Post-mortems Be Averted?

Quite a long overdue realization for me because for the past donkey years, I was breathing alongside post-mortem exercises at work quite a zillion times.  True, that's the default best practice BUT surely, NOT a majority is consciously aware that [Except for Force Majeure] Can Post-mortems Be Averted???  Otherwise, we continue to get locked-in within that vicious cycle when a POST-MORTEM comes close to the heels of each flop, each failure📘📙📗

NOT to discount the probability that NOTHING is really guaranteed to succeed in every endeavor we take.  NOT even those zillions of projects at work, which is just within the bounds of realities at work because projects per se, are always bound to hit hiccups here and there, which explains why POST MORTEMS are quite a staple food at the workplace.  BUT what's concerning are the POST MORTEMS that we initiative in our private life.  Do we deserve that much POST MORTEMS???

To be fair, it's NOT our fault if we're NOT that consciously aware of PREMORTEMS because it was rarely preached OR pitched.  At the workplace, PREMORTEMS are, by default, part and parcel of a rigidly executed risk management.  And that's the gaping hole in our private life because WHO can expect us to be running risk managements in our personal lives?  YET, that's the huge miss that's been happening and till to date, only a handful have embraced that need for PREMORTEMS!!!

While POST MORTEMS are a retrospective analysis that happens after an event happens, PREMORTEMS are the proactive ways to run a risk assessment way before an activity happens.  I can hear a devil's advocate say that HOW in the world can we run PREMORTEMS in our private life?  YES YOU CAN.  SO HOW?  Do run "WHAT IF" scenarios like WHEN you're planning for a long family holiday.  WHAT IF your work needs you at the last minute?  WHAT IF a typhoon cancels your planned flights😕😕😕

Our takeaway:  There's really NOTHING TO LOSE for us to try things out with PREMORTEMs, applying the WHAT IF scenarios.  LIKE if you are planning to buy a high-end appliance on the assumption that you'll receive a 'huge windfall' from a performance bonus, WHAT IF your expectation DOESN'T happen?  WHAT IFs are exercises NOT akin to rocket science.  Rather, they are practical ways to proactively manage risks via PREMORTEMS, rather being lackeys of the POST MORTEM conundrums.  YES dude, except for outliers, POST MORTEMS CAN BE AVERTED after all😊😊😊

When The Wheel SUDDENLY Falls Off

Sometimes, life can't just be bad BUT worse enough to be harsh.  LIKE WHEN you thought you were having a good safe secure job until HR gives you the pink slip [that befuddles you more].  LIKE WHEN you thought you had the best ever bff in life UNTIL one day, your bff turns his/her back at a time WHEN you were struggling.   YES indeed, we got to brace ourselves When The Wheel SUDDENLY Falls Off📗📙📘

In truth and in fact, under normal circumstances, the WHEEL is NOT [supposed] to fall off just that because that's NOT characteristic of our normal daily lives BUT before we get so comfy, do brace yourself because there are points in our life WHEN something bizarre OR unexpected happens way beyond our slightest inkling.  And that's a GIVEN. And with that risk, the least we can do is to mitigate things WHEN such risk does hit you❎❎❎

Personally, I have witnessed unthinkable things hitting hard someone WHO never expected it to happen at all.  LIKE WHEN everything was dandy and shiny within the closely knit group of joint venture entrepreneurs UNTIL one of them just walks off in the middle of the night, leaving his business partners out in the cold, helpless how to cope with their financial woes.  LIKE WHEN you had a very close and trusted confidant that goes back donkey years until one day, he abandons you at a time WHEN you were down in the gutter, clutching on straws for help from any good samaritan💚💛💜

YES indeed, through the years, I learnt that with time and experience to see the 'bad' things that inevitably happen in our life as stimuli for growth, character development and even an increased faith and change, no matter how unwelcome in the moment these events might be.  Through the years at work, I did witness first-hand these sudden turns in life hitting badly someone whose only fault is to grind and kick his ass to work😌😌😌

Our takeaway:  True, sometimes things can be that bad, so disappointing OR even so discouraging that it's all one can do to keep breathing.  In dark times, life can be that unbearable.  And I DON'T intend to minimize OR dismiss the pain, grief OR loss that accompany life's most terrible events.  It is so important to grieve, to acknowledge and process our deepest losses BUT what pains me is that our own society DOESN'T do a very good job of grieving alongside people.  Instead, we're too quick to tell someone to cheer up, to get over it, whew!  Indeed, another stark reality in our life, WHEN THE WHEEL SUDDENLY FALLS OFF❗❗❗ 

Why Wait For 'RED FLAGS'??? When There Is An 'AMBER FLAG'!!!

Everyone knows everything about RED FLAGS🚩🚩🚩BUT may I ask, how many of us are fully aware and conscious of AMBER FLAGS⚡⚡⚡  Why Wait For 'RED FLAGS'??? When There Is An 'AMBER FLAG'!!!  YES, this is the gaping hole that remains incognito for a good majority of us.  BUT in my past job roles, we tracked everything in-progress via the RAG [Red-Amber-Green] trackers.  And that meant considerably less efforts to be fighting fires, staring at RED FLAGS till you stumble💧💧💧

For alignment, let's agree WHAT RED FLAGs mean:

• Something has breached the 'threshold'
• Something needs to be urgently 'corrected'
• Something can go from worse to worst 'soon'
• RED FLAGS equate to something 'actionable'
• RED FLAGS could mean a 'MAKE or BREAK'
• RED FLAGS can literally 'burn you down soon'
• RED FLAGS is a final alarm before IT'S OVER

So, WHAT exactly are AMBER FLAGS?  Those are the initial tell-tale signs that things are NOT 'as per normal'.  And frankly, at work, I had to handle one too many AMBER FLAGS [and I was grateful to have all the bandwidth to be pre-emptive in handling AMBER FLAGS as it gave me that elbow room to 'nip things in the bud'.  It could be as petty as an employee's tardiness getting more frequent.  It could point to a performance trajectory skidding and potentially 'going down south'❗❗❗

YES, we would hear RED FLAGS more often WHEN it comes to relationships.  BUT here's the thing.  If the protagonists were ever sharp enough to detect the AMBER FLAGS, those looming RED FLAGS may NOT have even surfaced in the first place.  Sadly, almost all relationships seemed in peril to us all only when those RED FLAGS surfaced.  And this explains WHY the average worldwide divorce rate [and that excludes de facto separations] pegged to 1.8 per 1,000 [as of 2023]💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  There are one too many upsides to encourage us to be sharper and more incisive with AMBER FLAGs.  BECAUSE it means significantly LESSER efforts to save and resuscitate something 'going down south'.  BECAUSE you will have a considerably higher probability of altering the course from 'going south' to 'going up north'.  YES dude, let's be on the lookout of AMBER FLAGS [and say goodbye to RED FLAGS [except on exceptions]😁😁😁

What's In Your WHEELHOUSE?

What's In Your WHEELHOUSE?

For alignment, the WHEELHOUSE is where you steer the boat.  In another perspective, one's professional WHEELHOUSE steers his career forward.  Until it became a buzzword in today's daily grinding.  In the commercial space, it refers to the very core business of an enterprise and a typical scenario is WHEN an upstart entrepreneur wants to keep pace with his momentum such that he then contemplates to outsource some of the areas he's best doing, all for the sole reason that he wants to scale-up and jumpstart another commercial initiative.  BUT hold on.  There are parameters to guide us in our decision-making because one misguided move can spell failure.  So, What's In Your WHEELHOUSE???

Word of caution.  Some of us become too aware of WHEELHOUSES until we reach a point WHEN we [wrongly] thought that every foray we initiate results in a 'Midas Touch' success story.  NO sirrrs it DOESN'T shape up that way.  Because you got to earn your spurs.  Because you got to prove your worth.  Because numbers DON'T matter even if you purportedly claim to have 999 skill sets.  Because WHAT matters most is if you did legitimately earn this and that capability💥💥💥

BUT researches showed that this is NOT a black OR white stuff because leaving your WHEELHOUSE behind behooves an informed decision that factors in key variables such as:

• The skill may not be the task [or vice versa] WHEREIN to get the most value out of a given task, you may need to offload it to people worth their salt
• WHEN the task DOESN'T need you anymore.  Quite a no-brainer WHEN there's NO challenge left for you
• OR a task is huge enough you need to collaborate

On the other hand, there are times in our life WHEN we tend to churn in food more than we can digest.  NOT to a fault but sometimes it happens we're pushed to a corner, constrained to take on tasks NOT a part of our WHEELHOUSE BUT that's another narrative.  Meanwhile, this tells us that we need to be cocksure that our WHEELHOUSE is legitimate enough because everything takes off from there❎❎❎

Our takeaway:  In the banking/fintech space, our favorite acronym is KYC [Know Your Customer] WHEREAS for our thread today, let's borrow that KYC acronym but translate it to Know Your Capabilities because that will dictate how far and how soon can you trek in your lifelong journey.  IF your WHEELHOUSE is half-empty/half-full to date, that's fine, there should be NO pressure because over time, you'll be able to showcase your WHEELHOUSE with pride😊😊😊

The More You Talk, The More You FUEL It!!!

The More You Talk, The More You FUEL It!!!

In any life, any environment, RUMORS become louder and louder especially WHEN you ignore it.  BUT WHO wants to add fuel to a brewing fire anyway?  In the NBA world WHERE the trade deadline looms again, the rumors just get louder and louder.  To douse cold water on it, Pat Riley, Miami Heat's top honco, spoke and no mean terms, stated that they DON'T have even an iota of a plan to trade Jimmy Butler, the colorful 6-time all-start.  SO, why did Pat Riley stomp his foot down.  He said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH of those rumors WHICH were no less distractions to the players and coaches.  Indeed, very true, The More You Talk, The More You FUEL It!!!

The past years, with various organizations, in an attempt to fill a hole that would otherwise sit there and gobble up time and money, sometimes in a burst of inspiration, I'd take charge and propose an idea, perhaps NOT a perfect one at that point in time BUT more as a starting point.  I'll toss around my proposal, discussing with others WHO eventually I would need their buy-in, if NOT consensus.  And brace yourself, once you propose something, the more you vociferously push for it, the worse my idea seemed to be because the more I heard a NO after a NO, all reasons WHY my proposal was NOT good enough.  YES, obstacles will ALWAYS stand in the way, dude💥💥💥

WHAT happened next?  As my proposal got battered black and blue, left and right, I had to tweak and re-tweak it until I had to retable a new idea if only to keep moving, lest it dies right then and there.  With each 'NO', my proposal would get watered down UNTIL it became that unrecognizable and at the end it was hardly a shadow of what I originally proposed.  Think of it though, coming up with ideas is FUN.  As we have NO shortage of problems, everywhere we look at there are holes to be filled.  BUT c'mon, if you have an idea to be tossed in good faith, even a mediocre one OR even an outlandish one, share that idea, toss it out for consideration and let it 'talked out'  until it gets more forceful enough✅✅✅

WHY are ideas deserving to be 'talked about'?  Because as the discourse progresses, the crappy parts [if any], gets stripped away and in the end, it gets shinier and shinier as it gains momentum.  And before you know it, it becomes real.  In practical terms, if you want to make progress, be innovative, beat the competition and keep your customers happy, you want your idea to be a 'FUELER' rather than a DILUTER'.  A common competitive scenario is getting locked-in in a 'crowded' room or at least within a tightly-knit group WHERE you will go through the wringer for your idea to ever prosper and come into fruition.  So, HOW come many are enjoying that winning streak of having things their way, their proposals being embraced over and over again?  The most popular catalyst for those success stories are those WHO are so obsessively driven to have the last say, the last laugh in the room, NOT settling until they gain the upper hand😊😊😊

Our takeaway:  Living in today's world is very competitive BUT if there's a thing that's going in our favor, it's the fact that the field has been more levelled than anytime in the past WHEN the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs would lord it over.  Even at the sprawling Silicon Valley, they have a penchant for zeroing-in on the newbies, the startups, the never-heard ones.  BTW, the top 10,000 companies at Silicon Valley have employees numbering no more than 50.  It's because they want to gobble up the 'cream of the crop'.  And when ideas are floated, rather than dilute it, even for the supposed crazy and crappy ones, it's given a fair chance to be validated because THE MORE YOU TALK, THE MORE YOU FUEL up things dude❗❗❗

When The World Seems OUT OF CONTROL

When The World Seems OUT OF CONTROL

Still raw from our collective experiences from that harrowing Covid-19 pandemic, many of us [Ukraine, Palestine, even the hotly contested West Philippine Sea] to name a few countries] seem to be helplessly watching WHAT may be brewing and leading towards a Third World War, God forbid with the current ISRAEL-IRAN War.  And WHILE NOT of this magnitude, inflation is raging, causing and triggering everything from food prices to gasoline pump prices rapidly going up.  When The World Seems OUT OF CONTROL📗📙📘

Even the stock markets are down.  Nasdaq, Dow Jones, even the Malaysia Bursa are all eating dusts as the stock markets have been plunging and people are worrying that the out-of-control inflation could severely impact their economies, a huge spoiler after everyone's efforts in rebuilding from the depths and abyss of that recent virus outbreak.  And that uncertainty CERTAINLY LOOKS CERTAIN as it seems to last for the foreseeable future, God forbid, Insyaallah.  SO WHAT'S NEXT for us???

BUT hold on dude, at the very least, we got two options on the table.  Obviously, the first option is for us to let all the unpleasantness overwhelm us, whew!@#$%?  With that, we'll spend the day doomscrolling through social media, feeling that lethargy and depressed over the state of the world and how unfair everything could be to us given that most of us have given it our best shot as we grind day-in day-out✅✅✅

BUT hold your breath though.  Let's flip the coin and we got on hand an alternative which we can find to be practical and ease things up as we cope up with the harsh realities surrounding us.  And to deal with and conquer such fears, anxiety and stress, let's dip deeply into our arsenal to pluck out that resilience within us, that process of adapting and overcoming obstacles in the face of adversity.  It involves getting KNOCKED DOWN [surely] BUT we should never miss out that we do possess that INNER POWER to get up again, pick up the pieces and grow from that experience, hard and harrowing it may be at times.  NO sirrrrrs, it's NOT just about the war between Russia and Ukraine, OR between Israel and Hamas.  We need that skill WHEN we get laid off, WHEN we are forced to return to work [against our will], OR WHEN we feel that intense pressure [whether at home OR at work] having to contend WHEN the stars are NOT aligned in our favor😀😀😀

Our takeaway:  The very existence of the term 'CONTROL FREAK' indicates our need for control can go too far BUT psychologists insist that humans naturally want to feel that they're steering their own ship, that deep-seated desire for certainty and control.  So, we shouldn't be surprised if so many measures of our collective mental health are heading in the wrong direction these days.   BUT given that the world we live in looks unlikely to grow less crazy anytime soon, does that mean we're doomed to be miserable until our lives feel more comfortable?  DON'T give up though as researches show that WHILE we may NOT always be in control, at the ver least we can control our reaction to it and that should make a world of difference dude!!!

Conquering Anxiety: Everything Starts With ONE SMALL STEP

Conquering Anxiety:  Everything Starts With ONE SMALL STEP

Oh Oh Oh, not too long ago, we'll just shrug off our shoulders WHEN we hear ANXIETY.  BUT today, WHO can ignore ANXIETY even as the latest statistics I saw was way back 2019 when 301 million [or 4% of the world population] have various forms of anxiety disorder.  ANXIETY per se is NOT the 'end of the world' but the fact that that number increased by 55% since the 1990s, and that it is linked to other health conditions  such as depression, and even substance use disorders, when conquering ANXIETY, Everything Starts With ONE SMALL STEP📗📙📘

If there's a BIG MISS by most of us, it is the fact that we start to confront ANXIETY only WHEN it's right there staring in our face.  BUT WHERE were we before ANXIETY did hit us? And to piggy-back on those researches, WHAT was going on before ANXIETY did hit us?  Did we feel like being trapped in that vicious cycle before it gets to hit us?  Those constant worries, fears and the endless "WHAT IFs" and 'I CAN'T' escape, reminds me of the movie ' The Matrix💥💥💥

Without reinventing things, experts counsel us to quickly identify TRIGGERS & PATTERNS.  As ANXIETY is deeply rooted in thoughts that are triggered by situations, events OR even experiences that set off painful feelings, for us to pinpoint [OR at least attempt to pinpoint] those TRIGGERS, we should have a head start to figure out even smaller solutions to 'DISARM' those TRIGGERS.  Basic interrogatives could be:  WHAT WAS I LOOKING AT?  WHO WAS I TALKING TO?  WHAT WAS THE TOPIC THEN???

Digging deep to uncover the underlying beliefs and assumptions that somehow secretly fuel our ANXIETIES, it may lead us then to objectively challenge NEGATIVITIES, critical OR even irrational thoughts that may contribute to our distress.  Replacing them with healthy and empowering thoughts that counteract those ANXIETY triggers may enable us to regain that elusive control over our thoughts, life and even emotions.  Experts also encourage us to make explicit declarations to counter ANXIETY, like: "RIGHT NOW, I CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE ANY SICK OR NEGATIVE BELIEFS TO EMPOWER ME AND FUEL MY RESILIENCE TO REGAIN MY PEACE OF MIND'💚💛💜

Our takeaway:  Much as there have been countless success stories WHO did overcome ANXIETY disorders, it is NOT that obvious that there is a bigger number of 'horror stories' in fighting off ANXIETY.  To pick the brains of the experts:

• Design a small blueprint and plan to fight ANXIETY
• Set realistic timelines. You can't overcome it so soon
• Prioritize, to determine the SMALL STEPS you'll take

EVERYTHING STARTS WITH ONE SMALL STEP!!!

Often, The HARDEST Times Lead Us To The GREATEST Moments

Often, The HARDEST Times Lead Us To The GREATEST Moments.  Frankly, this is one of the most oft-quoted one-liners BUT allow me to re-quote it because sometimes, this gets lost in translation.  Trials, travails and tribulations are never new to us all BUT the huge miss I have been witnessing over and over again is that, when we get hit with that hard fall, sometimes, we would think that the whole world is crumbling down to our feeble feet,  WHAT happens next is that panic and pressure would surface all over the place BUT we're all missing out the fact that we become stronger coming out of the adversities in life.  True, WHEN faced with a crisis, it can be difficult in that moment to think how far you can go📗📙📘

This is WHERE RESILIENCE starts to surface as that becomes our ability to bounce back from those adversities and grow from the challenges we grappled with.  NOT just psychologists but all studies and researches show that past adversities can help us persevere in the face of a current stress.  And those past struggles help us become more RESILIENT with that increased empathy.  And leading and living with empathy has never been more important in our world than right now.  Because empathy is that ability for us to identify with the challenges that other people face and to see those challenges from their perspective.  You can run into an 'empathy roadblock' WHEN you think you have to fix another person's situation or respond with an answer💧💧💧

RESILIENCE will also help us find the 'GOOD'.  Through the years, WHENEVER the clouds hovering me get gloomier and darker, I would do my darn best to find that silver lining in the midst of those challenges. And a lot of WHAT's going on feels outside of my control during those times BUT I endeavored to keep some perspective so that I DON'T get off-tracked.  Finding the UPSIDE to adversities change the way we cope💚💛💜

YES, one realization I have had through the years is that those adversities in life helped me reframe stress as a challenge.  How we think about stress matters enormously in terms of HOW we process it.  Some people even view stress as a threat [ouch!!!] WHILE others are able to view it as a challenge.  With that challenge response, we end up getting that additional energy, and suddenly our heart's beat gets to be pulsating in an increasing crescendo and before you know it, your adrenaline shoots up💥💥💥

Our takeaway:  Without painting a rosy picture, if your world feels out of control right now and your stress levels are shooting up at an all-time high, go back and recall your past struggles, even those small ones, because at the end of the day, it should have 'hardened' you enough to have a much better ability to manage your current struggles, even if it DOESN'T feel that way in the very moment.  RESILIENCE DOESN'T always look pretty, because in some days it could look like that it's just about middling through as best you can.  Thing is, WHATEVER you're doing now is enough.  That said, leverage on the strengths you gained through the past adversities and ask yourself these basic questions:

• WHERE do I have control, influence OR leverage?
• WHAT is a [proven] specific action plan I can take?
• WHAT are my strengths which fixed those 'chinks in my armor'?

Yes dude, OFTEN, THE HARDEST TIMES LEAD US TO THE GREATEST MOMENTs.  Go for it!!!