Standing Wider When the Ground is Shifting

Check out the afternoon tea 🔈 with Coach Gemi at the end. ;)

Oct 02, 2025

It’s hard to ignore what’s happening right now. Atrocities unleashed on vulnerable populations, layoffs, restructurings, companies shifting directions—I like to believe that the public are driving that change ;)…but maybe you’re in the middle of it — sitting at your desk, watching colleagues pack up their things, wondering if you’re next. Maybe you’ve survived the cut, but you feel the survivor’s guilt that creeps in when good people — people with families, dreams, and bills to pay — are dispensable.

Unfortunately, it could have been you.

It destabilizes everything. Work no longer feels safe. The ground beneath you feels like it’s moving.

And what isn’t? What’s stable?

And… all of this is unfolding against the backdrop of a charged political climate — policies shifting, leaders posturing, communities feeling the ripple effects. It only adds to the sense of instability we’re all carrying. But in times like these, the call to stand wider, to root ourselves in values and intentionality, becomes even more urgent.

The Posture of Reactivity

In moments like this, most of us end up in what I call “tennis-court mode.” You know the feeling: the balls keep coming at you, one after another, and you’re just scrambling to hit each one back. Emails, meetings, performance pressure, family responsibilities — you keep serving, keep moving, keep reacting.

But here’s the problem: reactivity is exhausting. And as Harvard Business Review has pointed out in multiple studies, uncertainty doesn’t just increase stress — it also reduces our cognitive capacity to think strategically. (HBR, “Why Uncertainty Makes Us Less Creative and More Anxious,” 2022). In other words: the more reactive we are, the less we’re able to do the kind of deep, intentional thinking that actually carries us through change.

Standing Wider

So what’s the alternative?

Imagine you’re still on that court, but this time, instead of chasing everything, you pause. You plant your feet wider. You lock your knees. You feel the ground beneath you. You don’t stop the chaos, but you change your stance.

Actually, stand like when you are in Jamaah prayer - toe-toe, shoulder-to-shoulder in a straight line. I say this is better, because you aren’t standing alone. And instead of seeing the world “come at you”, hold the knowing that Allah is the One who puts you were you are supposed to be.

That’s what it means to stand wider in life, together, and with an understanding the world isn’t out to “get” you. You are where you are supposed to be.

Know that Allah is honoring you, and He wants you to stand in a posture of strength and intentionality, not panic and reactivity. That might look like:

Connecting your heart to your Maker, your Creator through the Quran, Praying, Dzhikir, and Charity.
Connecting with your family, negotiating, asking for help. Sharing the burden with responsibility and kindness.
Responding thoughtfully instead of impulsively.
Listen to understand rather than to answer.
And listen to yourself, if you need rest, then rest. Your body too has a right upon you.

Organizational psychologists talk about this as psychological resilience. HR thought leaders call it adaptive leadership. In Islam, we call it sabr and istiqāmah — patience and steadfastness on the straight path.

And here’s the paradox: you don’t get stronger by controlling more. You get stronger by standing wider — by rooting yourself in your worship to Allah SWT, emotionally, mentally, so you can weather the storm without toppling.

What This Looks Like in Life.

We are Spiritual Beings having a Human Experience ~ Dr. Marwa Assar, PSYD

Standing wider might sound abstract — even if you are Muslim. but here’s how it shows up day-to-day:

Going with Allah’s flow. Allah so perfectly has timed our 5 daily prayers that shift either forward or backward through the year — ok, this might not be so for those living close to the equator but for the rest of the world Shalat/Prayer time does shift — and this is a true blessing, teaching us to not be “married” to a specific time, or thing. Because Shalat time flows for us, how we work, live, play also shifts. This is the foundation for becoming stable in a moving world. Notice those timings (building your awareness) ensure to create break times for 10 minutes to pray + tack on 1-2 minutes of gratitude and reflection.
Constant and mindful assessment of what you are going to do in the next moment. Is this next thing aligned with what my Maker wants me to be doing? Yes, even as you rush to care for your child, or family member - quickly ask yourself, who am I doing this for? To please Allah or to please the person/or even situation.
- This is a hard one I know.
Feed your heart. This means, reconnecting your heart to the ONE source, yes, the ONE who made it. Filling your time with activities that Allah showed us to do to ensure our hearts are connected to HIM.

Give Back the Heart It’s Rightful Position of Leader.
Without God as the greatest Source of guidance and nourishment, a leader cannot lead or guide in a way that serves those he or she is guiding. Similarly, for the heart to take back its rightful position of leader within our psycho-spiritual system, and for it to lead the mind and ego effectively, it needs a strong and direct relationship to its Source, to God, the One who made this heart to know Him, connect to Him, and be nourished and guided by Him. ~ The Compass The Heart over Mind over Ego Method (H.O.M.E) pg. 226 by Dr. Marwa Assar PSYD

The Deeper Invitation

If you’re reading this in the middle of change, maybe even in the middle of layoffs — I see you. And so does Allah SWT. Although it feels destabilizing there is always good for the believer in

But perhaps the deeper question isn’t how do I stop the chaos? Maybe it’s: how do I stand wider?

How do I root myself in sabr and tawakkul — perseverance, patience and trust in Allah — while the winds of change swirl? How do I bring calm into my team, my family, my own soul, when everything feels uncertain?

A Free Resource for You

I recorded a short voice note on this very theme — shifting from reactivity to intentionality, from scrambling to standing wider. It’s free, and I hope it gives you a breath of calm and clarity in the middle of uncertainty.

👉 Afternoon Tea With Coach Gemi 🔈

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