This year has been a trying one for many from both a psychological and a physical standpoint. Just last week, hundreds of thousands of people in Houston, Florida, and the Caribbean lost their homes to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and hundreds of thousands more found out that they may be deported in six months after living, studying, and working in the US for most of their lives due to President Trump’s decision to end DACA. Last month, white supremacy reared its ugly head in Charlottesville, reminding us of the sheer amount of hate present in the US right now. Top it all off with an ongoing probe into Russian involvement in the election, and it begins to feel like we are living in a dystopian novel. The callousness, chaos, and calamity wrought by these events can be overwhelming, leaving me wondering what to do next. I’m guessing many of you also feel similarly, so I thought I’d share what I am doing to support myself so I can support others.

First, I remember to breathe. Breathing always slows me back down to the speed of life, as a friend once said. From that place, I can step back from the Matrix and see the world more clearly. I remember the practices that have served me over the years and return to those, namely meditation and journaling. Both are helpful grounding tools to bring me back to my core.

From here, I can more clearly self-reflect. The first question I like to ask myself is: what can I own of this situation I am in? In this case, it is my readiness to jump into the fray. When my fear and anxiety rise, I can easily get lost in news, opinion and social media to the point that I am spending more time focusing on these than with my family or sleep. I feed this propensity by adding my own comments and shares, which often serve only to make me more angry and frustrated.

I’m not saying engaging with current events is wrong, but I know it isn’t healthy when it begins to interrupt my life. With that awareness, the energy dissipates and I can ask myself a second question: what is important to me about this? The answer to that often relates to my core values, particularly freedom, equitability, truth, and transparency.

These values and the beliefs that are aligned with them, are the place from which I can take right action. I like to do this with the context of my work in the world so that my life can be as integrated as possible. In my case as an executive coach, taking an action that serves our clients and partners at Evolution, such as writing this blog, feels like a small, useful act of service to offer.

To Brian Chesky, CEO of AirBnB, taking action meant kicking the people who showed up to spread hate in Charlottesville off his platform, as well as offering Harvey evacuees free places to stay. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced that it will defend its Dreamer employees in court. Google and Facebook both announced that they would match up to $1 million of donations to the Red Cross in the wake of Harvey. While Lyft co-founders John Zimmer and Logan Green integrated donations to the Red Cross into the app’s round up and donate feature, as well as donated $100,000 out of pocket to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund. Uber also stepped up to the plate, offering free rides to shelters for Harvey evacuees. This comes after Uber learned the hard way that doing nothing is not an option when the company failed to adequately respond to President Trump’s travel ban.

Many other business leaders spoke out against white supremacy, vowed to protect employees affected by the DACA decision, and offered their monetary and physical support to those affected by Harvey. These are all helpful ways to respond to troubling situations by drawing on core values and purpose.

But the news keeps coming, so finding a rhythm to continue this process as a leader is critical: grounding, self-reflecting, and then responding from your core, perhaps each day. As a leader, there is a great deal you can do — not only for yourself and your team but for your customers, partners, shareholders, local communities, and society, as a whole. Challenges always present opportunities to take an action that can make a difference. Evolutionary business leaders take these opportunities.

By productively processing your emotions, such as fear or anger, and devising integrated actions that are of service, you can take a huge step toward “being the change you want to see in the world.” Imagine the impact of Brian Chesky’s actions among team members in the AirBnB offices last week and in the many homes that took in evacuees through the platform, some of them using AirBnB for the first time as a result of this heartfelt decision. He was able to create a positive outcome for many from this challenge by integrating a solution and taking right action. Ask yourself: what can you do?