Your breakfast toast isn’t just carbs. It can be a source of inspiration.
All it takes is “putting a happy face on toast with my pressed jam,” Debra Grabowski of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, told us.
It was one of those lovely emails from readers when we asked them to share the ways and means they use to stay calm and keep going in the face of setbacks and gloom.
The impetus for this caption came from an article we published earlier this month. We asked some attendees at Skoll World Forumdedicated to “acceleration[ing] creative solutions”, what they do to “keep calm and carry on” when things get tough.
We are grateful to everyone who responded. Here is a sample of their advice.
Looking ahead… the road ahead
Toast decorator Debra Grabowski also recommends looking to the future: “When everything goes offline and it gets confusing, I think, ‘Will this matter in five years?’
We should all be as smart as this 6th grader
“Hello Goats and Soda! I’m Natalie McGill, a 6th grader from Kansas City, Missouri, and this is how I keep calm and carry on. (Especially during our upcoming standardized testing season me) I asked myself “What if this happened? I get where I need to go?
“In my head I tell myself that this moment, right here, right now is getting me where I need to go. I find it comforting to know that I’m always getting closer to the moment I’ve been waiting for, or that I already live in it.
With pen (or cell phone) in hand
“Thank you for letting me participate,” wrote Laura Klarman of Herriman, Utah.
[Editor’s note: You’re welcome.]
Klarman has a three-step plan:
“Here’s how I stay calm:
- Handwritten thank you note. My problems (and the world’s) seem more distant when I have a grateful heart. It’s even better when I can express my gratitude and recognize someone’s greatness.
- Keep a running list in the notes section of my phone of things that make me happy. I’ve named it “Things I Love” and the latest additions are moving to a new month in the calendar (new beginnings!), discovering a new book series, and reading them in order, listen to loud music and hay all at once. row.
- Connect with the people and places I love. Try going to a new place to have lunch with a friend you haven’t seen in a while, going to your parents’ house and checking what’s in their fridge (old habits die hard), traveling to a new destination. recently with the family or at home with the husband on a rare day off when the kids are at school.
Grandmother’s advice: ‘Listen more, speak less’
Karen Lembo of Morristown, New Jersey, writes: “I try very hard to stay curious about people. It’s not easy and it came to me too late in life, but I ‘listen more, talk more less’. My beloved grandmother, Nana Rete, quoted ‘God gave you two ears but only one mouth for a good reason, Karen.’ It took me years, but my God, I find myself learning so much more every day by asking questions and then listening, REALLY listening.”
Lembo adds, “I keep calm by being close to my grandchildren – their intelligence, joy, humor, love and kindness know no bounds.”
Never underestimate laughter
With the cautionary note that “Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t,” Willow G. of Ohio recommends the healing power of laughter: “I grew up in a two-parent household. was a nurse, and the other was a police officer, and we kids were exposed to a lot of dark humor.
“I learned to laugh as a child, and when I did, I discovered something interesting: Laughter made me – and those around me – feel better.”
Perspective, perspective, perspective!
A reader wrote: “I am 75 years old and have many health problems, common to people my age. My mind is no longer as agile as before, and my stamina and physical strength are also gone. So is my wife. Much older than me and with even more health problems than me.
“It’s easy to focus on our problems or issues. What makes me optimistic, positive, and forward-looking is far and near law. It’s important to keep things in perspective. No matter how things go for me, I understand that many people are in much worse situations than I am. Perspective keeps me going. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and not getting anything out of it, I focus on helping others. I am sure that when I go out, I will have a smile on my face. I say ‘hello’ to complete strangers. I compliment people if I see them wearing something interesting. If I saw people in need on the streets, even though I was on a very low fixed income, I would give them something substantial, at least $5. I post positive posts on Facebook and send encouraging messages to people I know. I’m also very grateful to be alive. Being grateful also helps keep things in perspective.”
Find ways to cope with the pain
One reader writes: “I am an Alaskan from a small village of only 300 people – very remote but wonderful. My people and I have suffered many types of loss, mainly through suicide and despair. Last year, I lost 8 people in my life.” life with many different things and in a village of 300 people, these losses are felt.
“Two years ago, I lost two of my grandchildren. Those losses broke our family apart. What I do to ‘move on’ is to strengthen other things in my life that I can. Such as There are more and more positive people around me, seeing my family when they come to town, calling people, going back to church and telling people I’m having a hard time but not accepting pity. Just admitting that I’m not okay gives me permission to be okay.”
Stop, ask, count!
“You may not be able to solve the problem that day,” Tom Dorner of Detroit, Michigan, wisely suggests. But you are moving forward.
“First STOP and take a deep breath. Then sit down. Maybe count to 10, then ask yourself what the problem is. Be realistic and do what you can. Ask for help and advice if possible. You may not be able to solve the problem that day. But we can all take the time to see the world in a better light.”
