Things We Can't Control

Hello, friends! Brendan the Marketing Intern here with a fresh blog post for you. I've been thinking lately about something truly universal, something everyone has to come to terms with in their lives: that there are innumerable things far outside the scope of our control or even our capacity to influence.

It can be draining just to think about that sort of thing, but it's nonetheless an immutable fact of life. In the past few days myself and the others at Nakee have had to assess our perspectives on it. Aside from what happened on Sunday night (if you're from Detroit, you might be feeling those "Honolulu Blues"), we had to deal with a fresh mess when we came in on Monday and found out LinkedIn had more or less shuttered the company's profile on there.

The long and short of the reason why is that we had to replace it with a page intended for use by companies rather than one for individuals, and it was mandatory. Something outside of our control that added what felt like layers of unnecessary labor to an already-busy day – who hasn't experienced that?

As I worked on transferring the information from old page to new, I mused on how best to handle this sort of intrusion into the routine. It's very easy to say that one should just accept it and move on, but it's not always so doable. What I've figured instead is to process it in segments. There are always parts to things like this – accepting what affects you immediately and giving yourself time to properly deal with what may be coming later down the line.

With the page being changed, I was going to have to do a number of things to make sure those following the company on LinkedIn didn't lose a step, and we didn't either. I endeavored to handle the latter of those tasks first, transferring posts and such; only after I was done did I send out invites to our old followers for the new page. Creating a list of tasks, or editing the one you had already, can help break down what seems insurmountable into something much more manageable.

After I finished the new profile, I looked into how some experts recommended that this be handled. I also wanted to share their advice, namely a very informative article from Psychology Today written by Dr. Sharon Martin. In it, she notes that stress fluctuates as a result of things we feel we cannot change, and that sometimes new stress requires additional coping measures. Dr. Martin offers a variety of methods to help keep yourself mentally balanced, including exercise, meditating and enjoying the sights and sounds of nature. Indeed, we also published a blog here on Nakee.co about methods to handle stress, which you can read here. The gist of it all, though, is that self-care is critical!

Something that Dr. Martin mentions, and that I've been endeavoring to learn and remember myself, is a line that you may have heard before:it's okay not to be okay. It sounds trite at first, but it's a genuine piece of advice, and one that has helped me accept my own limits as a person. Part of self-care is being aware of your limits, and not only acknowledging them, but seeking help when they're reached.

One of the reasons there are so many things outside of our control is because no one can do or know everything, and no one should ever feel ashamed of asking for assistance. On a related note, remember that it isn't healthy to suppress or “bury” your emotions, whatever they may be. This only increases the levels of stress you'll be experiencing, and can be detrimental to your mental and even physical health.

It may be the understatement of the decade, but sometimes life can be a lot to deal with. Remember, though, that you are capable of overcoming whatever adversity may arise, be it mundane or a total surprise. Best wishes to you, and thank you for reading! This is Brendan, signing off.