The daily responsibilities dominate our focus and attention. Sometimes, that attention is diverted to unproductive activities, those things that drain our focus and move us further from accomplishment. Have you ever looked back at the end of the day – and realized you did not accomplish anything worthwhile? You worked hard but the whirlwind of the day stole the hours.
Stress builds as energy and is shifted from positive momentum to juggling tasks to find balance. The productive impact work we set out to do is rationalized through the process of necessity. Emotional energy is sapped during the process as anxiety, uncertainty, and urgency drives behaviors that are inconsistent with our goals.
What are the essential strategies to realign our objectives, reset our energy paths, and empower control? There are some fundamental skills that will help clear the emotional pathways that hinder the ability to stay connected to our objectives. First, you must build the foundation of awareness. Awareness is power and important to regain balance and reset focus. Next, it is important to get into action by implementing small but, incremental changes.
Lean into circumstances and find balance using the S-P-E method.
Stop:
⁃ Pause. Reflect and redirect the negative energy. Remember, awareness is key.
⁃ Regulate your physiological state, body language, and breathe.
Prioritize:
⁃ What is my highest contribution? The word contribution captures a sense of purpose, leadership, and service.
⁃ Reflect: Where is the best use of your energy right now?
Execute:
⁃ Focus on completion of one task and perform that with excellence.
⁃ Observe of your thoughts, emotions and tendencies. The words you verbalize leads your physiology.
When you pause and reboot, you override the negative response by focusing on the positive. You activate and reflect the mirror neuron of confidence, projecting inner composure and outward peace. This is contagious and those near you will mirror your confidence; you are not mirroring their uncertainty.
When we introduce a new element into our life it requires practice. Think in terms of awareness before reaction. Ultimately, we are responsible for our responses. And we are responsible for the people who we become.
Solution focused energy. If you focused on what went wrong and why it went wrong more than you are focused on the solution, you will be frozen in inaction. When we show up focused, energetic, relaxed, confident, and poised we reframe those experiences and rewire the connection to them. This neural state is scientifically referred to as “cohesive” and “synchronous”.
Your state can exert your presence coherently. This connects the mind to act as congruent, confident, contagious, curious, clear, and present. Presence is essential during times of high-stress situations. Look for positive perspectives of what is happening and let them become positive experiences. Savor the experience and the lessons that are a direct result of this new behavior. Sustain your awareness and have it become emotional and sensate, then intensify that feeling. Sense the positive experience is soaking into your brain and body – registering deeply and making those necessary neurons connections.
When you connect with yourself, you have more access to your own innate wisdom. The more you show up, create your reality, and embody it – feeling the way you want to feel – the more contagious you become, and the more others respond accordingly.
“This is the key to life: the ability to reflect, the ability to know yourself, the ability to pause for a second before reacting automatically, if you can truly know yourself, you will begin the journey of transformation.”
Deepak Chopra