Keep Calm and Carry On

We happen to live in a culture that rewards having a high tolerance to stress. The more work we can juggle without going nuts the greater the reward.  There’s a phrase going around, I see it printed on bags, people’s shirts, and coffee mugs. It’ says “Keep Calm and Carry On.” This is a tricky phrase because it can be understood in many ways, one way supportive the other way a slippery slope to greater distress. Let me explain.

“Keep Calm and Carry On” can be a signal to drop down from the chaos in our minds and just keep moving forward. This can be a godsend in the face of anxiety, depression, or addiction as that is exactly what we want to do. Disconnect from the flurry of automatic negative thoughts and keep putting one foot in front of the other. We might see this as a way to break the emotional spiral that can get us in trouble.

On the flipside “Keep Calm and Carry On” may tell me to move on from or avoid the feelings that are here just to get through the situation. When we’re experiencing a difficult moment in life, the recipe for healing can be the exact opposite. We want to open up to the experience that’s here as within this difficult moment may lay some innate wisdom. In going inward we start to realize that everything is going to be okay and we can handle the situation. We need this experience to really understand that we are more powerful than we know.

For example, when someone has fear around a particular topic. Sometimes the greatest thing to do is not keep calm at all. In fact, it can be helpful in a therapeutic encounter as long as there is trust between the client and therapist to have the client really engage their fear. I may even have the client amp bad credit loans up their fear and tell them to try and really hold onto it. What they find when they try and do this over time is that the fear begins to dissipate. We didn’t move on in this scenario we stayed with the feeling and in that experience the person begins to realize they can trust themselves in the face of fear.

This is just food for thought. I think the phrase can be helpful, but also misinterpreted in a way that can make us miss the benefits and true unsecured loans chance for change when we have the experience of nonjudgmentally “being with” what is here.

As always, please share your thoughts, stories and questions below. Your interaction creates a living wisdom for us all to benefit from.