Want Less Stress? Make This Shift Today
Want Less Stress? Make This Shift Today. Your emotions will rise and fall depending upon what you give free rent to between your two ears.
Video Lesson Below:A Negativity Detox:Be very careful what you think…your body is listening. Ephesians 8:6 “The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
Learning & Retention Tip:We often seek out information that will help us do two things: thrive and survive. As you read through today’s blog ask yourself: What stands out to me that I feel will help me thrive in my life? Write down 1 Action step you commit to…in Sherpa Executive Coaching we refer to this step as IC2 (I Commit To…). The above video explores the gift of endurance: the ability to press forward in the midst of challenges and conflict.
Want Less Stress? Make this shift:
In the last month we experienced two uninvited events within a two week period of time: My husband had the “widow-maker” heart attack and two weeks later, his company did a massive layoff which included my husband’s job.
When those unexpected pop-ups smack you upside the head it’s easy to get knocked out of your game. I am reminded of a time when I was at the Colorado State Championship tournament for World Tae Kwon Do and I was knocked out by an illegal hook kick to my head. I had practiced 6 days a week 4 hours a day and within 2 minutes I found myself knocked to the mat. I remember as the ref counted down from 10, coming to my senses at about 4. My first thought was:“There is no way I’m going out like this, not after all of the time, focus and energy I put into practicing techniques outside the ring.”Adrenaline shot me to my feet, I couldn’t see out of my right eye, yet my body didn’t care. At this point I was completely hijacked by strong negative emotions which propelled me into an animal planet type spider monkey attack on my opponent. I ended up winning the Silver medal.
After receiving my medal, my EGO escorted me off the podium. My 8th degree, very wise and HUMBLE, master trainer, whispered in my ear:“You lost Lauren, you let your negative emotions override your best techniques.”
How many times do we let our negative emotions fuel stress and anxiety in our lives to the point that we lose the LIGHTS ON version of ourselves in dark corners of anger, resentment, retaliation and non-forgiveness? When my husband was released from his job two weeks after his heart attack, we both felt knocked to the mat. As we fought through the negative emotions fueling stress in our minds and bodies we realized a simple truth: to stress or not to stress that is the question and our choice of response to situations in our lives makes ALL the difference in the outcomes we experience, the biggest one being our emotional and physical wellbeing.
Our first response was emotional: “They can’t do this, it must be illegal, we have to fight back.” As we prayed about it, we both felt led to follow Jesus lead in situations like this from Matthew 5:43-45:“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’“But I tell you,love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”It wasn’t easy at all.
Our first prayers sounded something like this: “Even though we do not feel like praying for these people because we feel hurt and rejected, BECAUSE YOU SAY SO, we pray for ______________________, and trust that you have our back in all of this, grant us your peace and strength.” The most amazing peace started to shift our strong negative emotions into feelings of calm and trust. So, we kept on praying for them. Within five days my husband had 5 open doors of possible job offers.
As we realize we have the ability to make the shift, or as in Emotional Intelligence in Christ, we refer to it as the course correction with the help of the Holy Spirit, peace and confidence return. Your attitude towards life events is your closest friend or worst enemy and you get to choose it. When you are hurt in undesirable situations, it is a job for Jesus no doubt.
Ask for divine assistance to make a mental shift from negative thoughts which fuel negative feelings leading to negative behavior TO positive thoughts which lead to positive emotions and ignite positive behavior…the result is emotional and physical wellbeing. As we have learned about heart health, stress is more of a contributing factor to heart disease and cancer than cigarette smoking and high cholesterol foods (20 Year Landmark Study, University of London).
TAKE ACTION:
Stress has many factors to it but the BIGGEST contributor lives in the space between your two ears. Be VERY careful what you think…your body is listening. Commit to a negativity fast this week. Shift a negative thought into a positive thought: erase and replace.
Support Resources: Now Available on Audible:
99 Things Your Want to Know Before Stressing Out!
