How To Handle Literally Anything | Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren

1. Embrace Life’s Curriculum

Accept that life’s challenges are the curriculum you’re meant to learn from, which can increase your capacity to respond more intelligently and see them as opportunities for growth.

2. Practice “Trust Life” Mantra

Actively engage with challenges by allowing them, having flexibility, and moving with them, rather than denying or painting over them, while also moving towards existing joy and love.

3. Consciously Choose Your Beliefs

Recognize that you have the freedom to choose your beliefs, and actively select those that foster a more pleasurable life, increased capacity to help others, and greater happiness, rather than rigidly adhering to a purely objective worldview.

4. Align Actions with Values

Even in moments of extreme challenge and unhappiness, consciously seek opportunities to act in ways that move you towards your core values, transforming the experience into a path of growth.

5. Set Altruistic Daily Intentions

Regularly set an intention, ideally before various daily activities (meditation, exercise, sleep, waking), to dedicate the benefit of your actions to all beings, which can help shift focus from self-centeredness.

6. Manage Crisis Fear & Control

When facing a crisis (like a health diagnosis), avoid immediately defaulting to fear and excessive control; instead, acknowledge the difficult realities without letting them consume all other positive aspects of your life.

7. Delegate & Prioritize Self-Care

Trust experts (e.g., oncologists) for their domain, and focus your personal energy on fundamental self-care: sufficient sleep, good nutrition, physical activity, and nurturing social connections for support and joy.

8. Holistic Self-Management Approach

Combine the mantra “it’s okay” (to feel difficult emotions), practice gratitude for positive aspects, and develop a deep understanding of your own mind-body patterns to respond effectively to challenges.

9. Physically Release Ruminative Energy

When experiencing strong rumination or emotion, engage in physical activity like dancing, jumping, or vocalizing (singing) before sitting for meditation, to honor and release that energy, allowing for a more spacious and easeful practice.

10. Interrupt Rumination with Ritual

To stop obsessive thinking, employ a ritual (like consulting the I Ching or Tarot) or make a definitive decision, even if arbitrary, to break the cycle of rumination and allow yourself to move forward.

11. Transform Suffering into Meaning

Take personal life challenges and suffering, and transform them into something that can benefit others, thereby creating deeper meaning in your own life.

12. Reframe Challenges as Tests

When facing difficulties, view them as tests or challenges worthy of taking on and passing, rather than fighting against them unnecessarily.

13. Engage in Consistent Practice

Understand that consistent practice (e.g., meditation) yields benefits across three time scales: immediate shifts in mood, long-term nervous system training for increased openness, and a holistic sense of meaning in your life’s arc.

14. Diverse Tactics for Obsessive Thoughts

To manage repetitive or obsessive thoughts, try singing them aloud to reduce seriousness, using a mental mantra like “up and out” to release them, or asking yourself “is this useful?” to assess their value.

15. Cultivate Ease, Not Easy

Aim for an “easeful” relationship with discomfort and suffering through practice, understanding that the goal is not the absence of pain but a more adaptable response to it.

16. Release Regret for Past

Acknowledge that past events happened as they did, and recognize that they contributed to your current understanding and growth, making regret unhelpful.

17. Cultivate Softness in Transitions

During difficult transitions or when moving between intense tasks, consciously aim for “softness” or “smoothness” by bringing a playful intention to enjoy the moment and make your body feel more fluid, open, or supple.

18. Prioritize Naps When Tired

If you’re genuinely tired and inclined to nap, allow yourself to do so, potentially integrating a body scan or mindfulness into the beginning of the nap, but also ensure you find time for alert meditation practice to cultivate mindfulness for daily life.

19. Adjust Meditation Posture

If you tend to fall asleep during meditation, try walking meditation or lying down to meditate, as these postures can sometimes help maintain alertness more effectively than sitting.

20. Embrace Enchantment & Mystery

Explore “other ways of knowing” (like astrology, as mentioned earlier) that imbue the universe with enchantment and mystery, as this can make life more enjoyable and full of wonder.

21. Try Clowning for Spontaneity

To cultivate spontaneity, silliness, and overcome embarrassment, consider taking a clowning workshop, and practice focusing on positive feedback (“go where the love is”) rather than negative judgment.