Feeling Guilty Over Ukraine
Dear <<First Name>>,
Recently, in one of the CEO forums I chair, there was quite a discussion about the Ukrainian crisis. Especially one member mentioned how this crisis and all the negative information on TV, all the time, is leaving him with feelings of guilt and anxiety.
We put our heads together and we came to the conclusion that it is natural and normal for us to feel guilty right now. Here we are in a safe country and our day-to-day worries are so small in comparison to those of the Ukrainian nation. Here we are in abundance and it's not normal to feel guilty about it.
But to just feel guilty about it and sit in that feeling, will just cause anxiety.
How we can overcome this, how we can at least lift out of this negative place, is to become proactive, and work on those things that we can make a difference with.
So we decided we will raise funds. We’ll get humanitarian aid to the Ukraine. We’ll make a contribution to the AirBnB effort and book rooms in the Ukraine and not ever go and visit there, so that the money can at least flow into the Ukraine, so that people can use it there. We can put pressure on our politicians to work through the political and diplomatic channels and put sanctions on Russia and apply as much pressure as we can.
Those are the things that we can do. But the things that we cannot do, we should just let go.
We should focus on the positive and let go of the negative. Stop watching endless TV news, images that are just repeated and repeated and repeated; social media with the same things over and over. Go on with positive stuff in the day and check in from time to time to know what's going on and how you can make a contribution.
This is the way with anything really negative: Think of what you can change and work on those things and let go of those things that you have no control over. That is a path to lead you at least out of this negative place. And maybe it'll bring you to a place of joy eventually.
There you have it. I hope this is helpful. See you next week, and let's focus on what we can help and send that help to the Ukrainian nation.
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