Shaking Off Negativity
When things pile up or just aren’t going right, it’s easy to feel frustrated or angry. Loads of unexpected setbacks happened in a row in the past two weeks, from drum classes being cancelled to repair bills mounting and unemployment dwindling to next to nothing.
Welcome to the COVID rollercoaster! Those of us who are self-employed have been riding it for the past seven months. You just have to hang on and wait for it to swing back up.
What do you do in the meantime?
1) Allow yourself to be angry. Just don’t stay there. Acknowledge it but release it. Do something creative, get some exercise, go out in nature, or bang on a drum.
2) Keep things in perspective. I have friends going through things that are much worse. This is a temporary blip. I know I will bounce back.
3) Keep the faith. Remember when you got through things in the past. It seemed bad then but then things shifted.
4) Remember your mission and purpose. Even though this year may not have panned out as you had hoped, remember your mission and your purpose. You can still move forward. It just might be in a different way.
How I shifted my mindset
I’m not going to lie. I felt pretty frustrated and defeated. One thing I do know is this: When you get knocked down, you can stay down. Or you can choose to get back up. Getting back up is a decision and it takes work.
Fortunately, I have a room full of drums to hit. So, I took my own advice: Take a break, take a breath, and tap out some beats! I thought that if I can’t drum with people in person, I can do a video with some of the fun activities that we’d do in a typical hand drumming class. You can grab something to drum on and join me! In just seven minutes, I felt better. I hope you will, too!
I realized that some things are beyond our control. No matter what the outcome, we need to use our gifts and keep on rockin’!
What is it that you need to release? It’s time to shake off negativity and rise up!
If you’d like to try drum therapy to help you reset your mindset, I have some spots open for virtual private sessions. It’s not a lesson. It’s a combo of therapeutic techniques + mentoring. Click here for more info.
Dori Staehle, MBA is from the Raleigh, NC area and is a certified drum therapist, drum teacher, percussionist, mentor, ADHD specialist, Toca percussion artist, and owner of Next Stage Drumming. Her mission is to empower kids and adults and help them focus, get unstuck, and heal – with drumming! Dori is also an inspirational speaker, and author of Find Your Divine Rhythm: A Creative’s Success Formula. She will soon be releasing her second book, which is about rising up and finding your purpose. Dori is able to deliver talks and training virtually to anyone all over the world.
