well being

Sitting in the Ugly: Staying with Difficult Emotions and Discovering the Gifts That Can Arise

“All hell is breaking loose around here again,” Daniel stated flatly.

“What is?” I asked.

“ Covid is back and my team is telling me they just can’t go through this again. What do I say to them? I can’t reassure them that everything is going to be all right. Yet I can’t just join in and add my own concerns to the mix. Everyone is burned out and anxious about what could happen. How do I help them prepare for what they may have to deal with?

I truly didn’t know what to say. It was my second coaching session in a row where someone opened up about a situation that was generating difficult emotions. I didn’t have an easy answer. Well, I could have come up with something but I’m afraid it would’ve come off as superficial and canned.

But what to do instead?

Book Review: Preparing Yourself for Life's Challenges

Toughness Training for Life
by James E. Loehr, The Penguin Group, 1993

I first read this book in 1993. I found it to be a useful application of methods used to train professional athletes for the rest of us. The book proposed that instead of focusing on stress reduction--which in today's world is pretty impossible--we need to focus on toughening up in order to handle more stress and be "healthier, happier, and more productive."