How to Change Your Mindset to Calm a Chaotic Life

No matter what kind of job you have or life you live, we’re all living in a bit of chaos right now. We hear a lot about shifting your perspective when times get tough, but what does that really mean? Here’s how to change your mindset to calm a chaotic life.

On a recent episode of The Darin Olien Show,

I sat down with my friend, country music megastar, Kenny Chesney. Our conversation was recorded pre-pandemic, but the themes parallel a lot of what we’re all going through now.

Kenny is one of the top-selling country music artists of all time. And he’s been living most of his life on tour since 1993. And he’s ok with that. However, the transition of living life off tour is what is so hard for him.

“I think I’m at a place in my life where things that used to make me happy after tour, don’t. I’m at a different place I think,” Kenny told me sadly.

It’s hard to find balance. It’s hard for all of us. Whether you’re singing in front of crowds of thousands of people, or teaching a classroom full of six-year-olds, it’s hard to strike a balance between work life and private life.

Right now, we’re all grappling with a drastic change in our normal schedules. Like Kenny, who won’t be able to tour again till 2021, we’ve all had our lives flipped upside down. So how do we change our mindset to deal with all of this increasing change?

The Tour is Over

Kenny told me that when he would get home from a tour, he would feel a bit empty. “Look,” he says, “when you’re on stage, and you’ve got 60,000 people loving you, everything’s perfect. Life is exactly the way it’s supposed to be.”

But then the tour was over, and the screaming fans were gone. And he was just a guy trying to live his life. When you begin to almost depend on that magic, sparkling energy that comes from a live audience, it can be emotionally draining to live without it.

So what does this have to do with the pandemic, Darin? Well, I’m getting to that.

We’re all grieving the loss of our “normal” lives right now. Everything is different. We’re working from home, the schools are closed, and money is tight. Things are different. Hence, the tour is over. 

Tweak Your Thinking

This isn’t permanent. But it still feels like the walls are closing in. The advice I gave Kenny applies to all of us right now. We need to find balance. We need to breathe. We need to eat healthy, despite the urge to fall back on unhealthy crutches. We need to move our bodies and appreciate the feeling on the earth beneath our feet.

Our thoughts, feelings and attitude towards life makes up our mindset. I mentioned to Kenny that if he could find a way to bring some of that energy he feels on stage to his non-touring life, it would help restore balance. So how would he do that?

The same way you could bring some of your pre-pandemic normalcy into your current mindset. Meditate on it, visualize it and bring it into consciousness. Let that feeling of comfort and content wash over you and take it with you throughout your day. I know it may sound too easy to be possible. But it is possible.

Remember, chaos is a part of life. But how you react to that chaos is a choice. Make it a good one.