Step by step: how to plan your life during the war

In peacetime, we all had a certain stability and familiarity, which sometimes grew into routine, but this also allowed people to make plans for the near and far future. Psychologists note: the less certainty in life, the more difficult it is to be confident in the future, to act according to patterns and constant algorithms. How to start planning your life and determine your prospects in a period of total instability?

Dwight Eisenhower said, "Plans are nothing, planning is everything." What is planning? It is a list of sequential actions or tasks. The most important thing in the planning process is that this process is dynamic, which involves several parts of the brain at once. This alone is of great benefit in unstable and difficult times, because it allows you not to lose your common sense.

According to etymology, the word "plan" is reduced to armor. planta - "sole, foot". In other words, it follows or moves forward. Perhaps it was this metaphor that gave the name to the step by step model or gave rise to the expression "the art of small steps."

Experts note that the desire of a person to influence the course of his life is natural. We, based on life circumstances and our capabilities, decide for ourselves what we want to achieve, and also choose ways to do it. Foreseeable circumstances provide certain clues for decision-making, but what to do in conditions of uncertainty during a war? Here are some tips from psychologists.

Adapt to the situation

People have the ability to perceive tolerantly a variety of life situations and adapt to each of them. Thanks to this tactic, instability ceases to frighten us. The level of this ability is different for everyone, but it is extremely important to develop this ability. In critical conditions, when you need to make decisions very quickly, tolerance for uncertainty sometimes appears by surprise, which allows you to radically change your previous plans.

Accept the loss of control

The realization that we have lost control of our own lives brings great discomfort, but at the same time makes us stronger. There are situations that we cannot change and events that we cannot influence. Once we are aware of this fact, we can afford not to worry about it. It is impossible to calculate everything, do not try to do it.

Learn to refuse

Making a choice - and this is life planning - is always difficult. When we choose one thing, we tell him: yes, this automatically means the rejection of another option or solution. Get your priorities right. It is important to understand that it will not be possible to achieve everything at once, you will have to deny yourself some desires if it weren’t hard.

Live by values, not circumstances

In the face of uncertainty, it is difficult to make plans for the future, but it is quite possible to build a life based on your own principles and values. It is your life guidelines that will help determine the most important thing: what to do and when, where and why, and they will draw a further path. These values can be close people, your relationship with them, concern for the well-being of these people and their health.

So, it is in a period of total uncertainty that self-management and dynamic planning will come in handy. Or, in military terminology, the art of maneuvering.

Source: Psychological support