A lot of you are in lockdowns or in quarantine. You are most probably thinking what on earth went wrong. You can’t meet your friends, you can’t go to office, you can’t eat out, and of course your social life is gone. And I am sure most of you are asking this question to yourself – “WHY ME?”
Well, this is probably not the first time you might have asked this question. Whenever we as human beings face a sudden situation which is not under our direct control, we ask this question. And the only answer or bi-product we get out of this question is stress, nervous breakdown, and worse case – depression.
See, this feeling of asking this question of “WHY ME?” goes back to our evolutionary history. We as human beings evolved from animals so obviously our brains evolved from animals too. When animals face situations which are not in their direct control, they go defensive. Adrenaline secretion starts, and animals either FIGHT the situation or FLIGHT from it. Our brains are wired in a way such that when we see danger our brain automatically goes to the defense mode. When we go in the defensive mode, it shuts down our logical and cognitive thought process and that’s what make us vulnerable.
Yes! We make ourselves vulnerable. We overthink and make our lives miserable!
So, what is the solution? Its really simple. When you face a situation which makes you feel stressed and nervous, take a pause. Ask yourself to define that problem. Once you define the problem, try asking yourself how can you solve that problem, if there is any solution to the problem? Who will get effected due to this problem? How can you help solve the problem?
You see what you are doing there? You are asking yourself questions. When you ask yourselves questions, you are shifting your brain from being defensive to being logical and questioning. You are activating your cognitive intelligence and you will see you are no more stressed; you are no more depressed, and you are no more nervous. You are in a position to face the situation and FIGHT it rather than run away from it and FLIGHT it.
This is how you solve problems. This is how you face life. This is how you stay happy and fulfilled. So next time when you get into a situation of “WHY ME” try replacing that WHY with HOW, and you will succeed.
Arnab Pandey 