Feel like you're bracing for what's next? Try this…

This week, a friend reached out to me and shared that lately, he doesn't feel present—he feels like he's constantly bracing for the next thing in this wild political context we are living in. Your challenge might not be political. It could be a toxic workplace, a tough relationship, or that nagging feeling that you're always falling short.

My friend's admission that he frequently feels like he's bracing for impact reminded me of an experience another friend—we'll call her Akosua—shared with me years ago. Akosua was on a trip to Ghana with her Church, and the group was in a bus accident. They were merrily riding along when someone sped straight into them. While fortunately, no one was seriously injured, there were multiple sprains and broken bones.

I asked Akosua how it was that some people walked away unscathed and others did not. I wondered out loud if their position on the bus or their size had anything to do with who was injured and who was not. She said neither was the case. The people who were hurt were the ones who braced themselves.

Still confused, I asked her to explain because, being the frequent flyer that I was even back then, I thought we were supposed to brace for impact.

Akosua explained that some people saw the coming collision and grabbed onto whatever immovable surface they could and held on tight—so tight that they took the full force of the impact.

Others, however, who were laughing, talking, napping, and doing road trip things, didn't see the accident coming and didn't brace themselves. At the time of impact, they simply rolled with the hits, and they were fine—maybe a little bruised, but their bodies had the flexibility to absorb and release the force of the impact.

This story has stayed with me for years because it's a great example of our choices as we move through life. Now, this is not to say that we sit around oblivious to the dangers around us or that we opt to take foolish risks and play in traffic.

Rather, it means that we prepare for the journey of life as best we can and enjoy every moment along the way. Spending all our time looking out the window and scanning for danger—whether that danger be political, financial, relational, or professional—doesn't make us any safer. Instead, it makes us so rigid that when life hits us with inevitable curve balls, instead of bending, we break.

The good news is that flexibility and the ability to roll with life's challenges can be built over time. For me, faith, community, and perspective—remembering that others have faced even greater and deeper challenges than I will ever encounter—help to keep me going.

If you're ready to build the resilience to navigate life's challenges with more ease, let's talk. Book a discovery call today to explore how coaching can support you.