R.I.S.E.

Do you know how you operate yourself when you are rising yourself to the occasion? Do you rise yourself to the occasion? Any occasion. This moment in life right now is an occasion. An occasion is a moment in time that creates a cause or a reason. More than likely there is a reason for any concerns that you may have right now. We just went through the learning phase of how to navigate a pandemic; an invisible something that created global uproar in how humanity has operated itself. This is a moment in time right now. We are being presented with an opportunity to figure out how to rise to the occasion despite any obstacles we may learn about or encounter. Do you know what it feels like when you are pushing yourself to rise to whatever situation you find yourself in?

The internal strength that it takes to tap into our rational mind when surrounded by irrational actions and emotions is forced to increase exponentially when we are rising ourselves. We have to become our own coach in the field of life and we have to learn to guide ourselves meticulously. It takes mental fortitude to rise. Emotional resilience and emotional intelligence. Not rising is most often not for lack of trying; we must increase our efficiency in tolerating and managing sadness and pain when we are rising. We have to be patient and self-compassionate when we are pushing ourselves through. Rising requires an acceptance (acceptance does not mean agreement) of suffering as part of the process of rising.

If you are experiencing disorientation in your life right now, your concerns are justified and the emotions you are feeling are valid. Although I should not have to tell you that, some of us appreciate support, encouragement and permission in validating our emotional experiences. The entire world is in varying phases of healing from a variety of traumatic experiences. No matter what your belief or perspective, we all are facing unanticipated change. Some of us are managing fear and frustration of the unknown while trying to internally reconcile with a certain sense of powerlessness. The whole world is wounded with assorted access and opportunity to heal itself. After experiencing a trauma, the individual must slowly re-enter or re-establish comfort and familiarity with their lives, they have to find their flow of living again. Coming through a traumatic experience successfully requires the individual to rise to the occasion of gaining back control of operating themselves in their life.

Self-operation can only come from within. R.I.S.E. is an acronym for reflect, inquire, soothe and execute. It is a tool that I use to teach clients to support themselves when trying to guide themselves through a traumatic experience. See a sample R.I.S.E prompt below.

R.I.S.E

Reflect

Inquire

Soothe

Execute

Step 1

Reflect: Explore how you have been emotionally impacted by what has occurred. Think about if you are able to trust yourself and/or your decision making at this moment. Reflect on your relationship with courage and fear right now.

Step 2

Inquire: How are you reacting to the unpleasantness? Do you realize what was and was not in your control? Can you identify what may trigger you to become defensive or feel like protecting yourself?

Step 3

Soothe: What do you need in this moment? How do you need to speak to yourself right now? What would provide you with comfort and calm?

Step 4

Execute: Hold yourself accountable for reflecting, inquiring and soothing yourself from within. Guide yourself rationally. Practice walking yourself through the steps. Become familiar with your process.

This moment in life right now may be your opportunity to figure out how to rise yourself to the occasion.