Bring the mind back, over and over again, from worries about the future so it can rest in the present, right now.
- There may be worry and pain in the mind, but probably, right now, there is enough air to breathe, the heart is still beating, and you are basically okay.
- Come into the present and recognize that this is true now, whatever the future may hold.
One great way to do this is to bring awareness into your body.
- For instance, be mindful of three breaths in a row, feeling your chest rising and falling.
- This naturally reduces activity in the verbal centers of the brain, so there’s less anxious chatter in the mind.
- It also quiets the brain’s “default mode network,” and this will pull you out of repetitive ruminations about the past or future.
- For a bonus, make one or more exhalations longer than the inhalations, engaging the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system.
- This slows the heart rate as you breathe out and is naturally calming.
Re-source: Recondition
Because of neuroplasticity – how the nervous system is shaped by what we feel and think – we have the power to change our brains for the better.
- Experience something beneficial such as gratitude for what is good in your life
- Then help it leave lasting traces behind in your brain.
- We usually skip the second step, but it’s crucial.
- To do it, you could stay with the experience for a breath or longer, feel it in your body, and focus on what is enjoyable or meaningful about it.
Recall your strength – A great tool for resilience is to bring to mind times when you felt strong and determined.
- It might have been when you pushed through the hardest day – or year – of your life.
- Or kept standing hour after hour at an elderly parent’s bedside.
- Or just kept enduring a tough childhood, or illness, or job.
- “I’m still here.” Tune into that sense inside, and feel it again.
Many times a day, we can weave gratitude, patience, and other inner strengths into the fabric of the nervous system.
- And as we grow more of the good inside ourselves, we have more to offer to others.
craving and resource from Ten Percent Happier – “We Will Get Through This” – by Dr. Rick Hanson