So many people have been asking me the same question recently. In a nutshell, How can I be calm in such a scary world—steady in what feel like truly unsteady times? In response, I’ve developed a series of strategies for cultivating internal well-being in difficult times, and maintaining a sustainable equanimity—regardless of what’s happening in our external world.

While there are many aspects to this process, which I will lay out over time, today I want to point out just a few small adjustments you can make that will improve your resilience and simultaneously shift the way you experience this very strange moment in our history.

To start with, the obvious: What are you feeding your consciousness? What are you choosing to ingest through news, social media, and other people—the company you keep? Pay close attention to what you’re choosing to pay attention to because where you’re paying attention will determine your attitude and mood. Be extra mindful of the people you spend time with, particularly those who insist on continually rehashing the awful things happening. Notice what it feels like to be with them and if they want to pull you into their ruminations and doomsday loops. If the news or the people you’re paying attention to are making you feel sick, turn them off. You can respectfully tell the people who need to keep talking about the darkness that it’s not helpful—for you. While you appreciate their need to vent and understand that that’s one way to manage all of this, it's bad for you. You can explain that you’re choosing to be extra-mindful about what you put in your consciousness right........

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