How do you react during times of high stress, surprise, or outrage? There are going to be times in your life when things come at you that you were not expecting. If it’s a good surprise then you are more likely to quickly embrace it. But when it’s something uncomfortable then we often turn to escape, panic, or reaction. It’s just human nature, but the more we are aware of our vibration, our ability to control our reactions, and avoiding the quick escapes, then we will be more likely to deal with the issue and move on peacefully.
When something happens, our lizard brain is quick to react immediately – fight or flight. It’s a survival trait that kept us safe as we evolved. Few situations are truly fight or flight in our modern world. They might feel like it to us, but the majority of the time we always have the option to pause, take a breath and choose how we react to a situation. We are emotional beings, so it’s ok to have an emotional reaction to a negative situation. Sometimes things do suck. People will do things that upset us, hurt us emotionally, or make life harder for us in the short term. I say, take that time to experience all the emotions – sadness, anger, fear, denial, etc., but don’t react while processing those! A quick reaction during a time of strife can have lasting consequences. Turning to a quick escape – drugs, drinking, overeating, or any number of escapes can be used to try and numb the pain, but that problem is still going to be there until you face it. There are people that spend years trying to numb the pain or escape a problem, which often only leads to causing more problems.
Breakups, divorce, getting fired, being insulted can all trigger some very negative reactions in us. All of these stir up fear and uncertainty. Fear and uncertainty are not good for survival, so that lizard brain is going to go into overdrive. As you become more conscious of your reactions and can remember to stop, pause, reflect, and then decide how you want to react, then it will become eaiser and easier each time something comes up to trigger your lizard brain. I’m gonna be real, this week has been a big challenge for me! There have been surprises, things that have insulted me, a general sense of chaos at work, as well as extreme temperatures threatening the health of my animals. Yeah, it’s been THAT kind of week. I’ve been through the emotions – fear, anger sadness, confusions, frustration, and good ole dose of anxiety. I wanted to crawl in bed and just hide from the world today, but I didn’t. I took time, made sure to meditate, exercise, and pause before reacting to things.
Yes, a few tears were shed. I probably lashed out a little and complained about a few things to my friends. I may have eaten only pizza and oreos today. I’m human. I needed to process through those emotions. But I didn’t let it consume me, or last longer than a few hours. One thing I do know- I handled it a heck of a lot better than I would have a year ago, and WAY better than I would have five years ago. Each time I get better at bouncing back from the triggers. I had my moment. I’ve thought it through. The animals are doing well. I have work under control. I’ve decided not to give any more attention to those that insulted me. I’m moving on and getting back to the positive, peaceful life that is my normal.
So when the sh** hits the fan, you hold up you head and let it bounce right off of you! You might have to clean up a mess, but you don’t sit around and wallow in it. We got a world to change, and it won’t happen if we are running away or fighting every time something goes wrong. Stop. Breathe. Choose your reaction. You’ll get through it.
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