In times of chaos and turbulence, we cannot rely on things we cannot control to keep us sane. How do we remain emotionally stable when the world is so uncertain?

Economic instability, trade wars, terrorism, viral pandemic and of course, the daily flux that makes up most of our lives. Many things today seem to compound the instability of our lives. The uncertainty of the situation globally and in our lives can make it difficult for us to stay calm and carry on but carry on we must, and these are 6 items we must keep in mind in order to remain emotionally stable.

1. Remain optimistic

Now, to be clear, this is not sticking your head under the sand in denial. This is about remaining in hope and having faith that we have the means to fight uncertainties in our lives. Being pessimistic will not help you or anyone else feel better.

When we are optimistic, we are more likely to see possibilities for the future and therefore make better decisions today.

2. Stay calm

As we have seen, people who panic over their situation revert to their primal instincts of self-preservation and protecting those closest to them. We can’t help it, this is what we do when we feel frightened and helpless.

However, fear and anxiety make us act irrationally and selfishly. Often, we end up hurting others when we panic. We are not facing the apocalypse, stay calm. You will be better equipped to stay in control if you remain calm.

3. Be more tolerant

When we feel threatened our mammalian brain kicks in and we react, often poorly and rashly. Before we get to the reactionary part, we can take a step back and adopt a more tolerance stance.

See things from other people’s perspectives, be more understanding of their behaviours. Think about all the different kinds of fights that occur between people, usually over some perceived slight.

If we were more understanding and more tolerant of each other’s behaviours and differences, there would be less altercations don’t you think?

4. Acknowledge your autonomy

The opposite of autonomy is dependence, and when we are dependent we lose the power of control over our own lives. The dependent person thinks of his life as being controlled by others such as the government, higher power.

The autonomous person on the other hand, is aware that his life is within his own control. He is charge of his thoughts, actions and behaviours. As a result, he does not wait around to be saved.

When we feel in control, we feel better simply because we know that we are in charge of our lives.

5. Exercise empathy

Empathy means the ability to feel for other people and thus consideration of others when making decisions. Apathy on the other hand, means total disregard for other people’s wellbeing and feelings when making decisions.

In times of turbulence, we tend to be selfish and apathetic. We want to blame others and, we will do anything for the sake of saving ourselves and people we love. We need to remind ourselves that we need to be empathic and not just see the world as others versus ourselves.

6. Remain logical

In times of crisis, our emotions tend to get the better of us. It doesn’t help that we receive different sources of information (valid or not) which fuels our emotions. It hypes us up and we start to develop panic mentality.

We need to stay in touch with our logical side. When we receive new information that makes us nervous and fearful we should balance that argument with logic. Does the info make sense? What should we do with it? How should we react, if at all?

Logic is there to counterbalance our natural tendencies of reacting based on emotions. Remain logical and don’t let your emotions get the better of you.

Your emotional stability depends on you

These 6 items aren’t magical elixirs, they do not make the bad things disappear. What they do is help you find stability within yourself that you cannot get from the outside in times of crisis.

Remember, a crisis is not just an external environment, a crisis is also an internal manifestation. Many things in our lives, big or small can feel like a crisis. When we have these tools however, we can maintain the emotional stability we need to keep calm and carry on.