10 Good Times to Use a Calming Technique
Our daily lives are full of times when something unexpected pops up and we need to improvise. When we learn to use the power of our minds to stay in a calm and resourceful state, these times are much easier to handle.
Here are 10 situations you may have encountered when a calming technique would come in handy:
1. When you can’t fall asleep and you’re telling yourself how tired you’re going to be tomorrow if you don’t fall asleep right now.
2. When you’re running late for an appointment.
3. When you’re running late for an appointment and then you get caught in traffic.
4. When you’re getting married in 15 minutes and no one has the ring.
5. When you’ve returned to where you parked your car and you can’t find your car keys.
6. When the power goes out. Anytime the power goes out.
7. When you have to give a speech.
8. When you’re waiting for the results of a pregnancy test.
9. When you’re off doing some shopping for your sweetheart’s birthday and your list blows away.
10. When it’s up to you to soothe a crying baby.
Have you ever noticed how some people seem to just take these kinds of things in stride, while others tend to panic? Same situation, very different reactions.
Somewhere along the way we have all learned a way to handle problems. If you tend to panic and you’re not happy about that, you can learn another approach. Instead of looking at problems as disasters, you can choose to see them as bumps in the road.
As soon as you notice those familiar, panicky feelings you can interrupt any this-is-a-disaster kind of self-talk by yelling STOP in your head, halting the negative monologue that was about to immobilize you. You can practice this by picturing a STOP sign in your mind at the same time that you yell STOP and emphasize it further by making a STOP gesture with your hand. Interrupting disaster thinking opens the way to a calmer, more resourceful state.
More often than not, it’s possible to see some humor in your situation. When you think of it, this is the stuff of comedy. Number 10 on the list, for example, being thrust into the role of babysoother, was the premise of the movie, Three Men and a Baby. Audiences laughed as they watched each of the three men soothing the baby in his own unique, amusing and endearing way.
Your situation might be like something you’d see in a movie too. If it’s possible for you to laugh about it, you’ll find that much of your stress is relieved and that you’ve already moved into that more resourceful state.
But sometimes we’re not quite ready to laugh. If that’s the case, you could begin by taking some slow, deep breaths and saying the word “calm” to yourself with each out breath.
Continue for at least 3 full breaths and more if you need it. If you’ve already been practicing meditation or self-hypnosis, you’ll find this step is very familiar and becomes easier each time you do it.
As you feel yourself calming down, start repeating to yourself,
“I can handle this. This is easy for me.”
“I can handle this. This is easy for me.”
“I can handle this. This is easy for me.”
Say this over and over until you begin to recognize that it’s true.
You can handle this and this is easy for you.
And that’s what you call a more resourceful state.
From there, resolving any problem will seem easy.