Practicing a believable thought that has acceptance, self compassion, or a different perspective (reframe) will help reduce stress in the moment and allow you to take back the power.
Some of the stress or suffering we experience is what we layer on because we judge our reaction.
This past week you tried practicing thinking, “How human of me… to be having this experience.” Or “How human of them…” I hope you found it useful from last week’s blog post.
This coming week trust the process and add this to your practice:
I notice I’m thinking…this.
I notice I’m feeling…that.
Thinking the words, “I notice,” gives your brain something useful to say or think about, and again disrupts or interrupts the pattern you’re making.
It’s also a good segue to questioning your thinking.
“Don’t believe everything you hear, even in your own mind.”
–Dr. Daniel Amen
Even if you aren’t able to make a shift or reframe your thought about the circumstances, you can neutralize it, drop into acceptance, decrease the intensity, and take back some power by disrupting the thought pattern, questioning it and observing your reactions without judgment.
Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist who survived a Nazi death camp and went on to write Man’s Search for Meaning, shared this important observation:
“Between stimulus and response there is space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
We have the ability to choose our response in any given situation which will move us toward our values or away.
Being emotionally “agile” (another way to say being emotional “resilient”) is being aware of the space between stimulus and response, and being mindful and intentional about the response.
Paraphrasing, Dr. Frankl’s conclusion, when we exercise our power to choose our response to a stimulus by being mindful and intentional, we are able to grow and expand our freedom.
Are you feeling overwhelmed, anxious or like you are judging yourself? Let me help.