The human brain is wired not to thrive but to survive. It's called the caveman mentality. We gravitate toward negativity, threat, and even danger — because we want to protect ourselves. We are drawn to bash, argue, and prove ourselves in order to survive this dog-eat-dog world. And it doesn't mean that all this is articulated. It can be just self-talk happening in some corner of our brain.
So how do we take care of our wellness when our mind is exposed to people and situations that tear us down? How do we take care of our wellness when we have co-workers whose past time is all about parroting the negative things that they see and hear around them? How do we take care of our wellness, when our work entails a lot of pressure day in and day out?
This Easter Sunday was our first public event on our nature wellness farm in Batangas. We were fully booked! We had to turn down a number of interested guests. We were all ecstatic with the marketing results the night before. However, with the unexpected drastic change in the weather forecast, the stress level peaked behind the scenes — controlled and uncontrolled boo-boos came about.
When unfortunate things like this happen, it is when I observe how my team expends their energy. Is it towards the problem or the solution? How are they behaving or misbehaving? What's their level of self, social, and situational awareness? How are they protecting themselves from going out of control?
Here are simple steps to follow to keep ourselves centered when facing stressors may they be people or situations:
Identify the problem and the root cause
Accept the person and/or the situation
Bring yourself to the awareness of how you are reacting
Power up! Step back if needed and regain your composure by doing some breathwork
Make sure that you are in your proper frame of mind before diving into the problem
Troubleshoot! Know that you can handle it
After everything has been said and done, give yourself a pat on the back, spend some quiet time with yourself and assess how things went
Learn from the situation, reboot, and smile
We all go through a lot of stress every day. If we allow our minds to dwell in this negative space, it will eventually impact our health and happiness.
Comments