Learning the art of unplanning

The pandemic has led to a lot of uncertainty. At this point, it is important to embrace the art of unplanning and instead control something that we can -- Our Mind.

Learning the art of unplanning

Saturday June 19, 2021,

7 min Read

We have all been taught to plan every step in life, from today to our future, but look where life has got us. Life at this point is filled with uncertainty, worries of the future, and a lot more of day-to-day stress.


But at this point in our lives, we should learn to embrace the art of unplanning and control something that we can -- “Our Mind”.


Mindset is key to coping with difficult circumstances and facing the unknown with utmost confidence, belief, and faith in ourselves.

Uncertainty in life

The pandemic has led to uncertainty in our health, our finances, and even our personal relationships. But as human race, all of us still crave security and assurance.


All humans have very different coping mechanisms when it comes to tolerating uncertainty in life. Some enjoy taking risks whereas some might find unplanning very distressing and at a point almost all of us have reached our saturation of dealing with the not so certain events around us.


It is important to know that we are not alone. Fear and stress of the unplanned situations can leave most of us to feel helpless, stressed, and sad.


Now, it is important for us to know that no matter how helpless and hopeless we feel, there are steps we can take to improve our tolerance to deal with uncontrollable scenarios in life, lighten our anxiety, and face the unknown with more comfort.

Learning to cope with uncertainty

The pandemic has taught us that life can change unpredictably. Things must be fine today but there is definitely no prediction of how tomorrow will be, and to cope with this, we use worrying and stressing as a tool.


This can make you feel like you have control over things but it’s the complete opposite. Worrying and stressing can only make things worse in your head. All this steals away your joy in the present, drains all your energy, and keeps you up at night.


But there are healthier ways to cope with uncertainty — and that begins with adjusting your mindset. Instead of planning and stressing over future events, it’s time we decide to live fiercely and tackle everything that comes our way with positivity.


All of us should learn how to protect our positive mindset, which will not only serve in these difficult times but also help for the rest of our lives.


The following tips can help you remain positive:

Focus on controlling things that are under your control

While you can’t handle the spread of the virus, you’re not absolutely feeble. Whatever your feelings of dread or individual conditions, rather than stressing over the wild, attempt to pull together your brain on making a move over the perspectives that are inside your control.


For instance, in the event that you've lost your employment or pay during this troublesome time, you actually have power over how much energy you put into looking on the web for work, conveying resumes, or systems administration with your contacts.


By zeroing in on the parts of an issue that you can handle along these lines, you'll change from ineffectual stressing and ruminating into dynamic critical thinking.

Learn to accept uncertainty

Regardless of the amount you endeavour to dispose of uncertainty and instability from your life, you actually acknowledge a great deal of vulnerability consistently. Each time you go across a road, get in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, or eat takeout or eatery food, you’re tolerating a degree of vulnerability. You're believing that the traffic will stop, you will not have a mishap, and you're food is protected.


The odds of something terrible occurring in these conditions is little, so you acknowledge the danger and proceed onward without requiring sureness. In case you're strict, you may likely acknowledge some uncertainty and vulnerability as a component of your confidence.


At the point when feelings of trepidation and stresses grab hold, it may be difficult to think sensibly and precisely weigh up the likelihood of something terrible occurring. To assist you with getting open minded and tolerating of vulnerability, the accompanying advances can help:


  • Identify your uncertainty triggers
  • Recognise when you feel the need for certainty
  • Allow yourself to feel the uncertainty.
  • Go ahead
  • Shift your focus

Challenge your requirement for assurance

While vulnerability and change are inevitable in our life, we regularly embrace practices to attempt to adapt to the inconvenience they can bring. As well as stressing through each conceivable situation, you may:


  • Unnecessarily look for consolation from others. You inquire more than once as to whether you're settling on the correct choice, unendingly research data on the web, or search out master counsel with an end goal to eliminate vulnerability from your life.
  • By not deciding, you desire to keep away from the vulnerability that definitely follows. You'll discover approaches to defer or delay acting — or even keep away from specific circumstances all together — trying to keep awful things from occurring.
  • More than once check things. You call or text your family, companions, or children over and over to ensure they're protected. You browse and re-browse messages, or structures prior to sending, two-fold check records to guarantee you haven't missed whatever could have repercussions on the consistency of things to come.


By challenging your need for certainty, you can begin to let go of negative behaviours, reduce stress and worry, and free up time and energy for more practical purposes.

Let go of stress and anxiety

Finding ways to diminish your general pressure and uneasiness levels can help you intrude on the descending twisting of negative musings, discover internal quiet, and better adapt to the vulnerability in your life.


Get a solid eating regime - Eating quality dinners can help keep up your energy levels and forestall mind-set swings. Stay away from sweet and handled food varieties and attempt to add more omega-3 fats—from salmon, pecans, soybeans, and flaxseeds to give your general mind-set a lift.


Get rolling - Exercise is a characteristic and powerful pressure reliever and against nervousness treatment. Take a stab at adding a care component and zeroing in on how your body feels as you move. Focus on the vibe of your feet hitting the ground as you walk, run, or dance, for instance, or the cadence of your breathing, or the sensation of the sun or wind on your skin.


Get a lot of rest - Improving your daytime propensities and setting aside effort to unwind a lot before bed can assist you with resting better around evening time.


Set aside a few minutes for unwinding - Pick an unwinding procedure like reflection, yoga, or profound breathing activities and attempt to save time every day for normal practice.

Live in the present

Vulnerability is regularly focused on stresses over the future and every one of the awful things you can expect occurring. It can leave you feeling miserable and discouraged about the days ahead, overstate the extent of the issues you face, and even incapacitate you from making a move to conquer an issue.


Probably, the surest approaches to try not to stress over what's to come is to live in on the present. Rather than attempting to foresee what may occur, change your thoughts regarding what's going on at this moment.


By being completely associated with the present, you can intrude on the negative suspicions and disastrous expectations going through your head.


You can figure out how to intentionally concentrate on the present through care. With ordinary practice, care can help change your distraction with future concerns to a more grounded enthusiasm for the current second — just as help quiet your psyche, ease pressure, and lift your general state of mind.


Edited by Megha Reddy

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)