Also, I appreciated that you indicated reduce/manage mental states rather than ‘control’ them as I think controlling emotions is probably an illusion.

Step 1
Uninterrupted Breathing: Even though our ‘natural’ reaction is to actually halt breathing or take a quick breath of shock, keep breathing thoroughly. Square breathing, 4 in, 4 hold, 4 out, 4 hold is a variation that works too.

Step 2
Positive Face: A genuine, even small smile “resets” your nervous system so that it reacts less to negative stress. Think of the smile as a reset button…think of a bad ‘knock knock joke or remember your children at play.

Step 3
Balance Posture: “Natural’ reaction is to hunker down, guard yourself. Instead, shake it out, check to make sure your lungs have space to breath. Become aware of your surroundings.

Step 4
Wave of Relaxation: Do a tension check. Jaw clenched? Shoulders up and tight? Create a wave through your body that sends the tension out your feet. Sometimes, over tense those muscles then you can relax better.

Step 5
Mental Control: or “acknowledge reality.” Cooper says you have to break the pattern of negative thinking, wishing the situation weren’t happening. You can tell yourself, ‘this is temporary and it will pass,’ or ‘this sucks, I am doing the best I can, I will get through this’. Shorter version might be ‘been there, done that, still here’.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I will send the toolkit and would love any feedback you have!

Katy

I think you’ve compromised on deciding if we should compromise.

Does it matter if the compromise is about a movement or a product? Some think that Benjamin Franklin’s ability to foster compromise is the reason our country came into existence.

Thanks for your work,

Leadership Freak
Dan Rockwell