Three Life Hacks to Keep Your Cool
Here are three things I do to help myself stay calm in stressful situations.
One of the things that can hold us back from the life we want is getting easily emotionally derailed by the small things.
Continually living on the breaking edge of anger, sadness, or frustration is exhausting.
It drains us of energy we could be using for good.
Of course, all things in moderation.
I get it.
Sometimes, you have to punch a pillow or blow off some steam.
But life is easier if we learn to navigate marginally frustrating situations for what they are…
Here are three ways to change your mindset when you start feeling irritated:
Assume everyone is hurting. (Because we all are in our own way.) Nobody wants to be judged on their worst day or in their worst season. Practicing empathy allows us to just make the assumption that the person who was rude to us or didn’t call us back or cut us off in traffic is probably just having a bad day. Maybe their boss is a jerk, or their mom is sick, or they are under intense financial stress. Always assume there is some hidden hurt in others you can’t see. And treat them the way you want to be treated when you are hurting.
Remember, you’ve made it through every day of your life so far - even the ones that were difficult. Sometimes we forget how resilient we truly are. When frustrating things come our way, we overreact because we lose sight of the big picture. If you’re having a rough day and everyone is getting under your skin, try going on a walk. Use the time to remind yourself how you’ve always landed on your feet. It will put things in perspective.
Choose curiosity. The older I get, the more I believe that choosing to be a curious person is one of the most emotionally healthy habits we can have. Genuine curiosity disarms people. It lowers the temperature. It helps us realize that the person we are ready to strangle is actually a lot more like us than we assumed. So, when you want to lash out, take a breath. Ask a genuinely curious question about the person or the situation you find yourself in. Watch what happens.
So there ya go, cranky pants.
Make Bobby McFerrin proud today.
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Something else to consider Aidee. Noise irritates the hell out of us. That noise can simply be the cumulative effect of fans, cars, and the incessant chattering of people. Silence often separates us from that cacophony that threatens to overwhelm us. Good noise cancelling headphones or long walks in the parks can give us that silence to readjust to the noisy, bothersome, loud world we live in. But giving grace where that’s not feasible heals our own soul as well.