Life brings new challenges every day, and there are countless of them that drive creative energy out. These aren’t necessarily gigantic problems but petty ones also like being stuck in a traffic jam, receiving a snide comment, being unappreciated, or facing negative feedback.

Most of my fears are psychological which I have built up in my mind over the years. At the deepest level, I feel I am acting out of the subconscious fears that hold me back from facing the world. These psychological fears include other people. This is the prime reason that rejection and disapproval lie at the bottom of my fears and shake my self-concept.

In the past, I reacted to these fears by building walls around me, which somehow defended me. The unfortunate part was that these further alienated me and created a vicious cycle. Meeting daily problems is no easy feat as negative emotions hijacked my mental capacities and drained my energy.
Ironically the more I refrained from behaving in ways that would lead me to guilt and remorse, pushed me to mental exhaustion. I thought I should reach out to the world and increase my engagement as this may help me overcome the daily problems, instead of tearing me down further.

The good part is I stumbled upon positive psychology which helped me interpret my problems effectively.

Allow me to introduce you to the strategies that assisted me in rising to occasions with grace, and increased my connectivity with myself and others.
In the past whenever I felt sad, upset, or angry, my heart raced faster than ever making my breath shallow and slow. It happened because whenever my inner world was in turmoil; my perception of the outer world blew out of proportion. To calm this response, I learned that I had to practice breathing slowly and deeply.

I had always yearned to live a picture-perfect life, living up to the highest expectations I had of myself. This habit was hard to overcome because when I reacted in ways that were contrary to my desire, I unknowingly created guilt and stress for myself which affected my life. I began with thinking about my ideal self shunning the unnatural pursuit of perfection.

Another life lesson for me was that I appreciated the goodness in people around me. It became easier to forgive them and also to let go of the grudges. I acknowledged the fact that everyone had inner strengths which were valuable and deserved appreciation. Human goodness by default is an innate feature that I utilized in my interaction with others. Connecting to their goodness also strengthened my virtues.

Once I calmed down my immediate urge to respond, I gave others the empathy and compassion they needed which was vital for a real human connection. My fears were part of my evolutional flight that ensured my survival. However, I also felt the importance of connecting with others and making a difference in the lives of people around me. These are some of the ways that help me meet daily problems gracefully.