This time of year can bring many feelings of uncertainty. Whether it’s personal or work related, life is full of challenges and unknowns that can weigh heavily on our minds and bodies. Rather than let fear and uneasiness creep in, reaching for more mindful tactics can help you remain at ease. Choosing to intentionally stop, pause, and reflect can help foster clarity and improve emotional strength.

Unlike worry, which is a reactive state of anxiety about the future, reflection is a proactive process of noticing the moment and examining present thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Here are some ways to reflect when worry rears its ugly head:

Remember the Power of Reflection

When stressful situations arise, you have the power to choose whether to worry or to reflect. It’s incredibly powerful to take ownership of your thoughts and feelings and switch mindsets to decide how much you worry, suffer, or burden yourself. In the moment, you can objectively ask yourself meaningful questions: what is and is not in my control, how can I respond to similar challenges moving forward, what lessons can I learn?

By asking these questions, you are taking stock and shifting uncertainty into learning. Anchor yourself to the present moment, reconnect with priorities and what is most important. Try not to give worry more attention than it deserves.

Practical Ways to Choose Reflection

• Recognize you are worrying: What does worry feel like? Just letting the feeling exist without giving it more space than necessary is key. Observe your thoughts without judgement and remember, this takes practice!

• Dedicate a few minutes each day to reflect: Journal, meditate, or practice mindfulness. Reframe your worries into reflective questions or actionable steps.

• Engage in Gratitude: Shift the focus from worry to gratitude, turn problems to positives and foster a sense of balance.

• Seek Support: Bounce your worry off trusted and unbiased confidants and gain fresh perspectives from family, friends, colleagues, a health coach, or a therapist.

Build Up your Wellness Toolkit

What’s in your wellness toolkit? It might be staying hydrated, eating a balanced diet, or engaging in appropriate physical activity. Reflection can also be an impactful part of your wellness routine helping you to navigate stressors and triggers more effectively. Guided mediation exercises, setting aside time daily for mindfulness, and grounding yourself to the present in both good times and bad can help tremendously in reducing worry.

Reframe the Narrative

Chase the why. Don’t ignore the worry, instead approach it differently by moving from overwhelm to deliberate consideration for why you are worrying. Look to make actionable changes in your own life and say goodbye to chronic worry that can lead to stress-related health issues, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and weakened immune function.

Worry is future-focused, often creating “what if” scenarios. This forward projection keeps you disengaged from the present moment, where real action and growth can occur. Arm yourself with the choice of reflection in your personal wellness toolkit. The more you practice, the easier it becomes to choose thoughtful reflection over unproductive worry.