In a busy and sometimes stressful world it can be easy to get caught up in all the things that are going wrong – especially when something doesn’t go the way you planned. We get caught up in our emotions and thoughts and the next thing we know we seem to be caught in a depressing funk or spiralling out of control and from there forms a chain of one bad thing after the other.

What if I told you there’s a couple of really easy ways to get out of these stressful states?

The first way I learnt was from Ekchart Tolle in his book ‘The Power of Now’. His teaching is pretty simple… It’s to observe negative thoughts when they arise but to not identify with them. Being present in the NOW is the secret to snapping out of some of these negative states.
So now when I find myself frustrated or crying over something that happened in the past, I try to practice this by first observing/watching my emotions and then I ask myself “what is wrong in the present moment in time?” – This brings my attention straight to the present moment and most of the time NOTHING is wrong! I’m still alive, I’m still here, the sun is still rising and the sky isn’t falling in on me. I might have a problem in the past or fear something in the future (which doesn’t even exist yet) but this is all something I can figure out with a clear head and no heated emotions in the way cloud my decisions that will affect my future.

The second way I learnt was from Dean Graziosi in one of his Mastermind courses and his happiness hack is also so simple!
He says that when you’re in a stressful state, give gratitude and start thinking about all the good, all the amazing things that have happened to you. Like “wow, my kids are amazing, I’ve got so many wonderful people in my life. Look at all the success in my life so far…”Give gratitude to anything positive. Practicing gratitude is the quickest way to get out of a negative state. You see, you can’t be grateful and sad simultaneously, you can’t be grateful and stressed/aggravated and the same time, you literally can’t think of two things at once!
Next time, instead of thinking about things that went wrong, give gratitude, take yourself out of that negative state and the say “OK, that didn’t work out… What can I learn from that? What did go right? What am I ignoring that was right in front of my eyes, that’s amazing? What actions can I take to fix the issue that caused me stress? And how can I make sure it never happens again?
We don’t make good decisions when we’re in a panic state. The most amazing ideas come from when we’re in a state of gratitude.

So next time you find yourself in one of these negative states, I’d like you to try one of these simple techniques from Tolle or Graziosi. I can say first hand that they both work extremely well and learning these have impacted my life and the way I deal with stressful situations beyond words.

Let me know if it works for you too or if you’re already practicing this! And remember, this is a learned skill that will become much, much easier over time so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t get it straight away. I’m here if you need me!

For now, have a beautiful and stress free week! 😀