I’m sure you, too, have heard about people who, after overcoming their dis-ease and personal catastrophic experiences, have called these challenging occurrences “a blessing in disguise”, “my greatest teacher”, “my greatest growth experience”, “a Divine gift” etc. In fact, whenever something happens that we call “bad”, we can rest assured that it contains the seed of a blessing. While we’re in the midst of it, it sure doesn’t feel that way, and if someone were to point out that there may be a blessing hidden within, there is a good possibility that we would get quite upset and judge this person as being callous, unfeeling and lacking empathy. However, once we’ve moved through this experience and can look at things in retrospect, there is almost nobody who can’t identify at least one really good thing that came from it.

But why wait? What would happen if we would turn things around for a change and started thinking from the future back to the present?

I invite you to do a thought experiment:

Begin by asking yourself what you are feeling at this time. Fear? Worry? Stress? Hopelessness? Powerlessness? Then rate this mix of emotions on a scale from 0 – 10, with 0 being no intensity and 10 being maximum intensity.

Then imagine it is March of 2021, and you have successfully navigated through these challenging times. Your loved ones and you are healthy, you feel financially secure, you feel a certain strength that appeared as a result from having overcome great difficulties, and you feel free to once again focus your thoughts and energy on your goals and desires in a positive way. You are aware of the blessings that unfolded as a result of the pandemic.

Maybe you feel a kinship and sense of oneness with people all over the world, knowing that we are more alike than different. Maybe being quarantined or ordered to stay inside, and thus not being able to distract yourself as much, allowed you to face your (suppressed) feelings and what was going on inside you, and you gained much insight and healing from it. Maybe you were reminded of the simple pleasure of being in nature, breathing fresh air, feeling the sun on your face, and listening to the twittering birds.

Maybe you have strengthened your relationship with God and renewed your faith in the Divine as your source of all Good. Maybe your relationships with family and friends have improved as a result from having spent more time with them. Maybe the same job that you used to moan and complain about elicits feelings of thankfulness and happiness. Maybe you have slowed down the pace with which you live life, and regularly allow yourself to ‘smell the roses’.

Maybe you have the motivation and stamina you used to lack before the corona pandemic, and are taking better care of your wonderful body, eating a healthier diet, and incorporating more physical movement than before.

Maybe you feel immense gratitude for the overall freedom you experience in your life. Maybe you live your life more mindfully, and are conscious of all the wonderful things that are available to you. Maybe you feel continued and amazing gratitude every single day for the things you used to take for granted.

You get the gist!

And from this (future) vantage point, look back at this (current) time in March of 2020 and rate your negative mix of feelings again. The intensity has probably gone down quite a bit. You can repeat this exercise again, and again. You should be able to run through it in a matter of a minute or two. No need to be a perfectionist. 😉

Please let me know how it worked for you!