Have you ever found yourself in a place where nothing seems to be going right? Do you feel like life is picking on you? Sometimes it is difficult to determine what to do. As a result, we often become increasingly frustrated and tense.
While these reactions may be common, you must ask yourself what kind of success you are experiencing when you fall into these states of mind.
Instead of reacting to your circumstances, try these simple but effective tips to get past your roadblocks.
1) Breathe
Take inventory of your breath. If you find you have been unconsciously holding your breath and breathing in a shallow manner, take these steps to release it.
Use diaphragmatic breathing to get clean oxygen into your lungs to replace the trapped stale air. Allow your belly to expand as you take in the fresh air, then contract when you exhale. It may be helpful to put one hand on your stomach so you can feel the movement.
As you inhale, envision breathing in clean, positive energy. When you exhale, envision pushing out dark, negative energy through your nose and pores. Use rhythmic breathing. For example, inhale to the count of 5, hold to the count of 3, then exhale to the count of 5. There are many variations of breathing patterns, but the most critical aim is to slow your breathing to a calm, restful state (even if you don’t feel calm now).
Diaphragmatic breathing is what children do so automatically. Watch a baby as he sleeps. When he inhales, his belly expands with air, and when he exhales, his stomach collapses. It is natural and peaceful.
2) Change Your Rhythm
Sometimes you must shake up your rhythm to change your current state. For example, if you are sitting down, stand up. Take a stretch or a brief walk. If you can go outside, do so.
Alternately, if you have an anti-gravity chair available, you may find that relaxing. You can also lay on the floor, lay on your back, and elevate your legs against a wall. The “what” is less important than the “doing.” Find a way to make a rhythm change.
3) Monitor Your Thoughts
Even when you have calmed down a bit, it is not unusual to start negative self-talk or conjure up the worst-case scenarios. Neither approach will prove helpful to you. Instead, begin to focus on what you know is good, even if you can only come up with a tiny positive. Continue to focus on things you are grateful for, and let your brain relax for just a moment.
4) Explore With New Eyes
Look around at your surroundings. It is not uncommon for us to walk around in a daze when our stress levels are high. Find something seemingly new around you. (I say “seemingly” because it is quite possible that is not new, just overlooked while you have been in crisis mode.)
Why is this important?
Because you are nudging your conscious mind to focus on something different, which gives it time to decompress and be ready to help generate a solution. When our conscious mind is thrashing around, our subconscious mind follows, which is not highly productive. Often solutions are available to us that we can’t think of because our minds are in crisis. By putting a pause on our crisis thinking, we enable our subconscious mind to work on finding answers.
5) Have Faith
You may not know the solution to your problem, but you must believe that there IS a solution. We release positive energy that gets us to solution mode much faster when we calmly remind ourselves that an answer exists instead of worrying.
What To Do Next
After implementing stress reduction techniques, you can attempt to solve the situation that first got you stressed. A calmer energy state will strengthen our brainpower. Another approach is to focus on something entirely different. It is incredible how great solutions sometimes come to us when we are not consciously thinking about them.
Hopefully, whatever method you choose, you are now relaxed with a reduced stress level and a clear, calm state of mind. Choose to be amazing!