How To Thrive In An Era Of Uncertainty

right now

many people are being confronted with

their deepest fears in a way they never

have been before

death isolation separation homelessness

financial ruin loss of loved ones loss

of freedom all the big ones right here

unavoidable and refusing to go away

what’s your biggest fear

for me

it’s not death or the death of loved

ones

i’ve already made peace with that

on the 31st of may 2013 i stood at the

bus stop in the little village we were

living in at the time

i was standing with dave and his

two-year-old daughter abby rose

watching that little blue bus trundle

away towards school with our two eldest

sons

we stood there silent

absolutely awed as that bus passed

directly under the most brilliant

vibrant complete rainbow that stretched

across the entire village

it was astonishingly astonishingly

beautiful

and that was the last time we saw dave’s

son marley alive

he died of a brain aneurysm that morning

eight years old and he was gone

the village was devastated

everyone knew mali

at his memorial the crowd gathered

spilling out into the car park children

and adults alike sat on the floor there

were that many

it was heartbreaking and it was

devastating and it was

also one of the most

stunning examples of life and death and

grief done well because after the

memorial

molly’s parents dave and raquel chose to

celebrate his short life

with a two-day festival

they were jumping castles and soccer

pictures and live music and feasting and

wish van wish lanterns and

fireworks

together

we

grieved and wept and played

and danced through the pain

instead of hiding away they called their

people to them

connection was the medicine that we all

needed

and we honored marley through an

unrivaled celebration of his existence

i learned then

that life is uncertain there are no

guarantees there never have been

and there never will be

so when covert hit australia in 2020

it wasn’t death that shook me to my

bones

it was loss of freedom it was when those

borders started to shut that my anxiety

skyrocketed i panicked caught between

running and freezing my heart hammering

in my chest i barely slept for weeks i

exercised excessively to cope the fear

ran through my entire body it wasn’t

just confined to my mind everything was

in chaos within and around me and i was

desperately looking for an escape that i

couldn’t find

this is not to downplay anyone else’s

experience this is just mine

but see fear is like that

we each have our own deepest fears that

send us into fight flight or freeze

they’re not wrong they’re not right they

just are but when they hit they hit hard

and we lose the ability to think clearly

let alone creatively

and yet it’s creative thinking that is

the key

to navigating uncertainty and ultimately

this is what i did i moved from chaos

and fear to creativity and possibility

and as a result my whole world opened up

i now have more time or abundance more

opportunities deeper connections than i

did at the beginning of 2020.

ultimately for me and for a lot of

people i know covet has created

opportunities that we never knew existed

i mean this is a tedx talk and i’ve

wanted to do one of these since they

started

yeah it’s crazy

times it is scary

but as margaret drabble says

when nothing is certain

anything is possible

but how do we move from fear and break

through into possibility where all our

obstacles seem to just lose their power

i have found that i need to access my

inner calm

move through my emotions and face my

fears in order to access the gold mine

of possibility that lies in the midst of

uncertainty and i would love to share

with you

three

that work really well they are simple

they are effective and they are

available to just about anyone without

even needing to leave your bedroom

breathe move connect simple right but

they each come with a twist i am going

to suggest that you breathe less

not more

that you move your way through emotions

and that you connect

in a way that leaves you inspired

so breathe

did you know

that you can control stress panic and

anxiety just with your breath

this is because aside from focusing on

something other than your fear the very

active breathing itself has a direct

impact on your nervous system

a 2018 study titled how breath control

can change your life noted that slow

deep nasal breathing

switches off the fight and flight

response and switches on the rest and

digest response

patrick mcewen

breathing expert author and founder of

the potako clinic international says

this shut your mouth and breathe only

through your nose

and make your breathing light slow and

deep

one client came to me

she was suffering severe panic attacks

taking multiple antipsychotic

medications daily just to deal with life

i taught her one simple technique

after about a week

she came back to me

oh my goodness she said this stuff is

amazing i just stopped a panic attack in

10

minutes those things normally last hours

this woman not only gained control of

her panic attacks but she actually

started changing her life and began

living her passion

thriving

two move

have you ever heard of runner’s high

so this is when people experience not

only less pain and anxiety but they

actually feel euphoria from endurance

exercise

new research from germany suggests that

this is caused by the body’s

endocannabinoid system which is a system

that’s designed to maintain body harmony

but it’s also able to give us feelings

of euphoria and relaxation a bit like

marijuana does but without the marijuana

endurance exercise literally helps you

get high on your own supply

it seems to happen when the mind

quietens down and the body just moves

which is why it’s more common with

endurance athletes because that’s when

there’s enough time for this to happen

so keep that in mind as i tell you about

my favorite form of movement ever

ecstatic dance yes you can dance your

way to ecstasy

with ecstatic or conscious dance there

are no movement there are no steps or

style to follow it’s where your body

just moves the way it wants to in

response to the music

another study from this year 2021

surveyed over a thousand conscious

dancers

they found that

95 of those with depression anxiety and

trauma experienced therapeutic results

alice walker says hard times require

furious dancing

and this is because music has a way of

helping us access

express

and more importantly move through our

emotions and beyond to where we want to

go

you can literally use it to move from

one emotional state to another

i’ve worked with this to redesign my

business my lifestyle upgrade my

relationships

reimagine my kids schooling all sorts of

things

this is a super powerful practice

literally in the space of one hour i can

go from feeling frightened and angry and

anxious to feeling empowered inspired

and free

honestly

this practice can change your life

connect brene brown foremost researcher

on courage shame vulnerability and

empathy says connection

is why we’re here

we are hardwired to connect with others

it’s what gives purpose and meaning to

our lives

and without it there is suffering

matthew lieberman a social

neurobiologist and author

says that social adaptations of the

human brain are what’s central to making

humans the most successful species on

earth

it seems that it’s connection and

collaboration that have meant humans

have not only survived but thrived

the last two years have seen a lot of

people hit the floor

but humans have always been able to

adapt and innovate this is our super

power

innovation seems to happen at that sweet

spot when challenge and inspiration meet

so when our world around us is full of

challenge we need connections that leave

us inspired

i’m part of two groups that are purpose

designed for this

we both meet weekly one in person one

online one is for life generally and one

is for supporting each other in our

own businesses

neither existed before covered i barely

knew half the people beforehand

but they are like food for my mind and

my heart

they have helped me not only survive the

uncertainty but to thrive in

it

yep

coven has been a full system disrupt

but

in amongst the chaos and uncertainty we

have the opportunity to create a whole

new world

imagine

if the world was full of people living

their lives to their fullest potential

what do you

love

breathe to find your center

move your way through your limitations

connect to support and inspire

and open yourself up to the possibility

of living life reimagined on your terms

because you are the one you have been

waiting for