Navigating Turbulence in Your Life

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Let me share another true story with you.

I was recently flying from Chicago, Illinois down to Tampa, Florida.

As we were approaching the airport in Tampa, the pilot said over the intercom that there a thunderstorm over the airport and we would have to circle the airport for a few minutes.

As the flight attendant was walking the aisle asking everybody to make sure that their seat belts were fastened, we hit some turbulence, and an updraft from the thunderstorm. 

Turbulence occurs when an airplane hits air currents causing it to pitch, roll, rise or drop, very suddenly.

The flight attendant was thrown up to the ceiling of the aircraft, hit her head and ended up in a stunned state laying on her back in the aisle.

She was helped back to her seat by the other flight attendants and did not participate with the passengers for the rest of the flight.

The turbulence I experienced in that airplane was caused by an updraft in the thunderstorm.   Thunderstorms include both updrafts and downdrafts.  

You can follow energetic updrafts  and downdrafts in your own life to a positive outcome.

Emotional turbulence in a person’s life, much like the kind experienced on an airplane, refers to periods of instability, unpredictability, or rapid change that can disrupt one’s normal routine or sense of well-being.

Emotional turbulence includes intense, often unpredictable fluctuations in a person’s emotional state.

How do you survive emotional turbulence in your own life?

1. Understand Emotional Turbulence is Unexpected. Just as air turbulence often hits you without warning, emotional turbulence can arise suddenly and unexpectedly and causes the chaos of change in your life. This is due to events like a death, losing a job, a relationship breakup, change in a living situation, a health crisis, or other significant life changes.
2. Understand Emotional Turbulence Makes You Unstable. In an airplane, turbulence causes emotions, the physical sensations that lead to feelings. Passengers feel unstable, shaky and unsteady. Similarly, in life, emotional turbulence will affect your sense of stability, security and control, and will trigger feelings of fear, anxiety and uncertainty.
3. Understand Emotional Turbulence Varies in Intensity.  Emotional turbulence can be mild, moderate, or severe. In your life, some challenges may be mere annoyances, while others can be profoundly disruptive, affecting various aspects of your life, including your personal life, professional life, and even your financial stability.
4. Understand You Can Navigate Through Emotional Turbulence.  Pilots have strategies to manage and navigate through turbulence in an airplane, such as changing altitude to find smoother air and changing course to fly around bad weather. Similarly, you can use your own methods to adapt and cope during emotionally turbulent times. It is important to remember, most episodes of turbulence in an airplane are temporary and quickly lead back to smooth flying.  You can use your own methods of seeking support, adjusting your goals, and developing new strategies to manage stress, regain control, change course, trust, find a smoother path and fly around bad situations when you hit emotional turbulence in your own life.

Recognizing and addressing emotional turbulence is crucial for maintaining mental health and overall well-being and creating a positive impact in your own life.

Out There on the Edge of Everything®…

Stephen Lesavich, PhD

Copyright © 2024, by Stephen Lesavich, PhD.  All rights reserved.

Certified solution-focused life coach and experienced business coach.