Navigating The Illusion Of Urgency In Unstable Times
I have written about the topic of urgency probably two or three times over the past few years, and it never seems to be enough. Why? Perhaps because the world seems so unstable right now that everything feels urgent.
If a situation is urgent, it means that it is potentially dangerous and needs to be addressed immediately. That’s the objective view. For us, though, it so often falls into a felt sense of urgency that makes little sense if we take the time to really look at it. I must get supplies before going away for a weekend, even if those supplies won’t likely be needed for a month. I must wash and style my hair for a routine video sitting, even if how my hair looks isn’t as important as my message so long as my hair is reasonable. Styling my hair may help me feel confident, but there are other ways of supporting my sense of confidence that work more effectively.
Feeling that something is urgent triggers our body to react as if we were in an emergency situation: Our heart rate increases, the blood flowing to our muscles increases, hormones that aid in acting swiftly increase and all else in our physiology decreases. We develop tunnel vision, focused only on the thing that feels urgent, unable to notice anything unrelated. It is our built-in, hard-wired, response to a felt sense of danger, and is meant to help us effectively deal with the danger. This system – our stress-response system – is meant to be triggered periodically, not constantly.
However, when our world feels constantly in danger, then our sense of urgency becomes our constant companion, and this will lead to burnout.
I believe that the main reason for this recent felt sense of urgency is because of the seeming instability of our world. For that reason, it’s even more important to take a moment to decide what truly is urgent and what we can let go of for now.
How can we do this?
By noticing when we begin to feel everything is urgent, take a moment to stop and breathe. It helps to deliberately take some long slow breaths until you can feel the stability of the ground beneath you. Long slow breathing floods our lungs with endorphins that trigger our relaxation system and that therefore, provide some space to reconsider.
In that space you’ve given yourself, ask if what you’re doing is truly urgent. If the answer is “No”, then let it go for now.
Notice how you feel once you let it go.
These days, you might need to do this several times a day. In doing so, you are giving yourself the gift of stability and energy for other things that truly support you live well, even in these times.
Quote of the Week
Though the urge to hurry was beginning to beat through my brain, I knew that was the one thing I couldn't do. Not if I wanted to save lives.
― Keri Arthur, Full Moon Rising
How to fix the exhausted brain
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Maryanne Nicholls is a Registered Psychotherapist. To find out more, gain access to her weekly newsletter, meditations and programmes, sign up at www.thejoyofliving.co .