Yesterday I met a man who’d just been downsized and lost his job. With Christmas just around the corner and a young family – this young man had no idea how to tell his wife the bad news. He dreaded going home. Have you been there?
If you’ve ever been demoted or fired … or even if you’ve run into negative barbs unexpectedly at work … you're actually better off to flee from any focus yo
ur mind imposes at that moment. Why so?
Without your help … the human brain tends to cling tight to hurdles and hurts. It can literally lock you into heartaches … when the going gets rough.
To center on a hurt or hurdle … holds you back mentally and adds stress that shuts down your ability to escape and move on. It slips in when you’re vulnerable and distracts you dangerously from any place of weakness.
An emotional tornado can hurl cortisol chemicals, and any fixed concentration there tends to suck you into its center. Has it happened to you lately?
Whenever people face sudden shock that washes their well being out to sea – the human brain tends to fixate more on the problem or pain and hold onto misery … like a deer caught in head lights. It doesn’t have to be that way though. How so?
With a brief decision – you can flee from the focus that drags you down. Take a brisk walk, for example, and visualize one concrete memory you can stir up. It could be as common as chasing the dog across a pile of leaves – or as magic as sipping wine with a good friend on a favorite beach in the summer breeze.
The key is to pull your focus from the painful place that will shut you down … until you can find a new focus. Be deliberate and replace the slug to your soul with a new image of goodwill. That one image – may just hold a solution … or at least hand you a survival plan … until you catch your breath. It also spills chemicals into the brain to help you recover with a new idea or direction.
Other people can rarely supply the serotonin you’ll need to reboot emotional or intrapersonal strength – but luckily your brain is equipped to rejuvenate serotonin supplies that help you make it through. It starts with deliberately distracting your focus away from the rays that sting … and it fuels your mind to find a finer horizon. What do you think?
Being intentionally thankful is a wonderful way to reset. I keep a small card with me that includes my prayer list for the day. The first thing on my list, as I learned from my parents is what I thank God for today. Having such a list with me has come in handy many times when it seems lie the world has a giant bat and is swinging at my head.
At the end of the day, I list the good things that happened today. Making that list always improves my mood.
Posted by: Wally Bock | December 9, 2007 2:34 PM | Permalink to Comment