Jessica Welch July 22, 2020 Every part of the world feels a little…okay, a lot…chaotic right now. You aren’t alone there. It’s easy to become overwhelmed and feel like everything is out of your control. I’m talking about the world of business, but right now that probably applies to personal lives as well. For some this unnerving feeling is leading to anxiety, as we see a spike in reports of anxiety and depression.
Although your world may feel out of your control, your responses are within your control. It is necessary to understand your emotional responses and manage your stress and anxiety appropriately. Some people believe that means ignoring and avoiding emotions that make them uncomfortable. But people who honor and process their emotions are leaders that others want to follow.
Founder of MindValley Vishen Lakhiani works to bring people closer to their best selves by teaching transformative education like mindfulness. Throughout the years of working with Fortune 500 executives, celebrities, and professional athletes on helping them generate the focus needed to push through high-stress situations he created a method of meditation that is now widely used.
His 6 step process will help you become more mindful of your emotions, allowing you to stay calm in the face of chaos. Whether you already have a mediation practice or you simply want to incorporate this in a less structured form of self-reflection, going through these steps daily will help you stay grounded during the chaos.
- Find compassion
Take a second to think about your own self-talk. Most of us are incredibly hard on ourselves, harder than we are on anyone else in our lives. First, we need to drop the negative self-talk and find compassion for ourselves. Once we have accessed this, we then look outside ourselves to our immediate environment – the space we are in. Then outside our homes or offices to the neighborhood around us, then to your region, your country, and finally earth as a whole. We can blame our problems on anything from ourselves to the cosmos around us. Finding compassion for the root of your problems will lighten your load.
- Find gratitude
There is a science behind gratitude. When people focus on what they are grateful for they get better sleep, have fewer headaches, form stronger social connections, and generally have higher emotional intelligence. Take a survey of your life and list all the things you’re grateful for. Focusing your attention on the things going well will propel you in the right direction.
- Find forgiveness
This begins with revisiting memories of hurt or betrayal, but the end goal is to remove the burden of these from your everyday life. Once you’ve opened the door to some of the ways you’ve been wronged it’s time to reach for your newfound compassion and practice forgiveness. It may not come naturally at first, but the more you work at this the more you’ll believe it.
- Find your future
This is the time for future dreaming. Lakhiani asks you to imagine your life 3 years from now. Three years give you enough time to change the course of your life in any way, but not too much time where it feels too far away to worry about. This phase is about giving you momentum and allowing your dreams the space to take shape.
- Find your perfect day
Now imagine your perfect day today. Who are you with, what are you doing and where are you? Imagine your social interactions with loved ones and coworkers. This practice will help you actually plan to be happy all day, instead of allowing for small roadblocks to “ruin” your day.
- Find a connection
In the final step, you are asked to find a connection to something greater than yourself. If you are religious or spiritual this is easy. If not look to the order or disorder of the world and thank it for bringing you exactly where you are today.
These 6 steps will help you approach even the most stressful situations with a clear mind and the ability to focus your emotions.
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