Facing Difficult Times: Practices for Thriving Amidst Uncertainty

“Handling our suffering is an art. If we know how to suffer, we suffer much less, and we’re no longer afraid of being overwhelmed by the suffering inside.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master and Peace Activist

Recent developments in our global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has thwarted many plans for re-opening and “returning to normal” in different parts of the world. With the Delta variant getting ahead of vaccination efforts, the sight of an end to the pandemic has become more hazy and uncertain. Lockdowns are continuing and with it our experience of prolonged social isolation, limited recreational opportunities, and heightened anxiety about our safety and security. There is no way around facing our present reality but to see it as it is. Among the Four Noble Truths taught by the Buddha, the first one is to recognize that suffering is part of life. In the same way,

resilience doesn’t come from denying or downplaying the challenges we’re confronted with.

In fact a significant factor in surviving extreme adversity, according to resilience research, is facing down reality—taking a sober, down-to-earth view of our situation (Diane L. Cuotu, How Resilience Works, Harvard Business Review, 2015).

Cultivating resilience amidst hardship is a practice that requires intention and brave inner work, that is being willing to roll up our sleeves to sharpen our “inner game.” It would be gravely misleading to paint a picture of resilience being born out of merely “thinking positive” and keeping ourselves distracted from our unpleasant emotions. These so-called coping tools will easily break under the weight of prolonged hardship. We need to think of resilience cultivation in terms of samurai or dojo training, seeing ourselves as warriors-in-training, strengthening our skills to meet difficulty with the power of our inner practice. These times invite us to harness our deeper human capacities, the gift of awareness that opens the door to acceptance, that opens the door to wisdom, that opens the door to skillful action, that opens the door to inner solidity and genuine resilience. We invite you to cultivate resilience through these dojo practices of radical acceptance, searching for meaning, and opening to what’s new. As we practice these skills, we learn what the Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh calls the art of suffering. These practices don’t just benefit ourselves, but also enable others to experience the wholesome ripples of energy that we create when we are deeply grounded. These are times for brave work and we all have it within us to make it happen.

PRACTICES FOR CULTIVATING RESILIENCE AMIDST UNCERTAINTY

Radical Acceptance

Psychologist and philosopher William James once said, “The first step in overcoming any misfortune is to allow it to be.” Radical acceptance is a practice that enables us to break through the inner resistance to painful events and emotions that come our way. It means accepting our present reality totally and completely, with our mind, heart, and body. By meeting our hardship with radical acceptance, we stop fighting reality which causes a build-up of stress and tension in our minds and bodies.

Radical acceptance doesn’t mean that we approve of what happened and what’s happening. It is not giving up or giving in. It is acknowledging reality so we can direct our psychological and emotional resources to move forward and effectively face our challenges.

We can pause and spend some time asking ourselves, “What am I resisting?” The first step is to simply observe and notice our resistance to the way things are. We can then notice where and how the resistance is showing up in our body, the way we’re holding on to tension, in our feelings of resentment, and in our looping thoughts about how reality should be. As we become aware of resistance, it is often helpful to meet it with an embodiment of acceptance—taking mindful breaths to create internal space, opening our palms and half-smiling to inhabit a posture of willingness, and being patient with resistance if it feels immovable. We don’t have to fight with our resistance. Radical acceptance is a process which can start with accepting the resistance that we’re experiencing in this moment. When we’re getting stuck with resistance, we can also ask ourselves, ‘What’s the threat?” The response to this question allows us to filter through the factors we can control and to focus our attention on what we can do instead of continuing to fight what we can’t change.

Searching for Meaning

The ability to see reality is closely linked with resilience. Resilient people build bridges from adversity to possibility by devising a constructive view of their suffering. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Austrian psychiatrist and holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl recounted his experience of being in the concentration camp, facing immense suffering and the reality of death every day. Frankl discovered that in order to survive, he had to find some purpose. Frankl created goals such as imagining himself giving lectures in psychology and helping others understand what happened during the war so that humanity can learn from its hard lessons. Finding and creating meaning carried him through what appeared to be a hopeless situation. Post-war, he went on to become a pioneer in developing meaning therapy.

As we face hard times, we can resist the impulse to view ourselves as a victim and to blame life. Rather, we can look at our suffering from an angle that enables us to create meaning for ourselves and others. A question we can ask ourselves is, “When this hardship has ended, who will I become? What will I have learned? How could I rebuild my life in a way that unleashes my true potential?”

Opening to the New

Looking back over the past 18 months since we’ve experienced this drastic change in our world, what has changed within us? What has changed in our life? Change can trigger our fears and insecurities as we face what’s unfamiliar and uncomfortable. However, these moments of disruption, are also meant to catalyze our growth and development.

If we are mindful and aware, we can use our struggles as a starting point for transformation.

By being aware of how we are experiencing changes and transitions in our lives, we can support the arc of our growth, the larger picture of our journey as a human being.

Jeremy Hunter, author and founder of Executive Mind Leadership, outlines three important stages in opening to the new, each stage requiring unique efforts.

The first stage involves seeing and acknowledging that something has ended. We have to admit that something familiar and comfortable has come to an end. It is important that we take time to properly mourn what we’ve lost. We need to ask ourselves, “How am I experiencing an ending? What am I being asked to let go of?” We might be invited to accept our sadness, our grief, our feelings of loss.
The second stage is the in-between period, the middle zone of forming a new pattern. Like a caterpillar in the middle of transforming into a butterfly, we need to surrender to transformation.
This stage involves facing the discomfort of being uncertain, unstable, and unclear. Our anxiety can get activated by being in this awkward in-between stage. But by recognizing that evolution is transpiring, we can become more forbearing with our discomfort. We can flow with the opportunity to explore and experiment with new ways of living our lives, to keep trying, and moving ahead. Eventually, there will be a gradual emergence into the third stage where we welcome new energy, rebirth, and renewal.

By allowing versus resisting change, we open ourselves to the inner expansion that makes our lives fuller.

The Power of Purpose

We are marking one year since COVID-19 became a pandemic,
causing unprecedented disruption to lives and economies. By now we have all realized that there is no quick fix to this global crisis, and that despite the availability of vaccines, we would have to cope with a world that will look and feel very different from the one we left behind. Social distancing and masking will continue in the foreseeable future, livelihoods need to be rebuilt, and work systems redesigned. There is no denying, we are facing hard realities ahead. Yet, these challenges are most certainly not beyond us to embrace and overcome. These pivotal moments of change give us the opportunity to step out of living on autopilot mode, and to rediscover life by digging deeper into our whys and connecting with a sense of meaning that is larger than ourselves. When the outside world is shaking with uncertainty and change, we can always turn into our inner world for the grounding power of purpose.

The UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center defines purpose as “an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world.” Researchers have discovered that a sense of purpose is linked to a number of good outcomes, across the lifespan, including:

Higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction
Better educational outcomes
Physical agility
Greater cognitive functioning
Lower stress levels
Greater personal growth, integrity, and health
Boosts work experience and wellbeing
Greater longevity

It is clear that purpose is vital to our wellbeing and resilience. Especially when we are experiencing suffering or difficulty, enlarging our perspective allows us to redefine our experience so that instead of caving in to helplessness and despair, we are held by a vision of the greater good that empowers us to SEE and BE beyond our adversity. Spiritual teacher Michael Bernard Beckwith urges us “to make goals that are worthy of our souls.” He says:

“We are here in this world to let something unfold from within us.”

This way of looking at purpose invites us to seek outside conditioned expectations and goals that are externally defined and imposed upon us, and instead to really pause and consider, “What am I a commitment to? What difference do I want to make in this planet? How is life manifesting through me?” When we connect with our purpose, we always find others traveling the same path which also decreases our feelings of separateness and isolation. Purpose draws us into the greatness of humanity, the seeds of which are in each one of us, waiting to be nurtured.

Studies show that purpose is not a fixed goal or destination, but something that evolves throughout our lifespan. Purpose is a journey and a practice. We can tap into the power of purpose at any time in our life, if we’re willing to explore what matters to us, what kind of person we want to be, and act in alignment with the person we want to become (greatergood.berkeley.edu). There are many ways to practice stepping back and gaining a better view of our North Star. We are in the best of times to discover the inextinguishable light within us and to hold this up boldly as walk forward to our future.

Practices for Cultivating Purpose

1. Identify your values

The first step in cultivating purpose is understanding what is deeply important to you. These are your values and motivations. Give some thought to your values and write them down. Notice how they show up in your day-to-day life. When you uncover what values are most important to you and keep them front and center in your mind, it can transfer even the most mundane tasks into a more meaningful experience.

2. Pause

Once you clarify your core values, the next step is to find ways to apply them in a range of situations. How do you do this? Take a moment to pause. Make a habit of pausing for short moments throughout the day. A great opportunity for this time of reflection is when you’re transitioning to other activities. Take a mindful breath and bring yourself back into the moment. Then think about the next activity you will be doing and how it connects with your deeper values. Noticing how you apply your values to everyday tasks helps strengthen them in the mind and deepen your sense of purpose.

3. Reflect and reframe

When you find yourself in a challenging situation, reframing your experience within the lens of your purpose can help shift your perspective. Even small annoyances and daily frustrations can help us sharpen this skill, and that prepares us to weather the big storms of life. In a stressful or challenging situation, bringing our values to mind can put us back in the driver’s seat, shifting our focus to the things we can control. Instead of powerless, we feel empowered, and as a result, we are less defensive and better able to manage our feelings and reactions. The one thing that is always within your control is your perspective, and with the right perspective, even the most challenging situations in life can become deeply meaningful.

4. Act with you purpose in mind

Lead by example. Sometimes the problems happening every day in the world seem insurmountable. When you find yourself caught up in diagnosing the world’s problems, consider what you can do to lead by example. Is there a small step you can take that would help in this moment? Or, is there a simple shift in perspective that can help you see things in a new light? Use your values as a guiding principle in the things you do, leading by example. This can help reinforce your connection to your values and your higher purpose.