Here's a Quick Way to Stop Stress
Here I share a quick way to stop stress, keep calm and perform at your best…
Today I got on my motorbike and headed off the mountain where I live to find a cafe to do the final read through of my next book (Mind Detox, if you’re curious!). Amazing ride down through forest lined bendy roads with the morning sunlight breaking through the branches. Stunning. I love stillness and I love speed. I love the multitude of paradoxes that every day life offers - when we are aware enough to see.
The fascinating thing about riding is that even if you are sometimes moving quickly and have potential risks all around, there is simultaneously a palpable inner stillness and peace present. Making it surprisingly un-stressful. This is because motorcycling demands that the rider is completely present.
Here’s a quick selfie that I took when out on my ride today.
This also makes riding perfect for practicing living in the present. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you have to rush out and buy a bike - in order to stress less. I’m just using it as an example of how by being present - by for example, using the stress coping strategy shared below - you can keep calm - whatever you happen to be doing and wherever you happen to be doing it.
When riding you have to be right in the here and now. You really can’t let your attention move away from the moment for a second. This kind of focus brings with it a great sense of peace and presence - and is the ideal peak state for performing at your best. You see, you aren’t caught up in your head dwelling on earlier or planning later. You are present. You aren’t imagining worst case scenarios. You have all eyes on the road immediately ahead. You aren’t thinking. Instead, you are totally tuned into the moment. This makes you more conscious and aware and as a result, more inwardly calm, still and focused.
I invite you to play with engaging everything you do with an undivided attentiveness upon the present moment. See how it improves how you feel, increases your levels of success and enables you to really enjoy the journey.
Here’s a simple stress coping strategy for keeping calm amidst the movement of life…
REALITY CHECK: Tune in to your senses to keep calm
The more you are in the moment and the less you are in your mind, the quieter it naturally becomes and the better you feel. You move from stress to serenity, can keep calm anytime anywhere and experience more satisfaction. You also become much more focused and creative too.
This Reality Check involves taking your attention to your senses to fully see, feel, hear, smell and taste whatever is occurring right now. Here are the full instructions and also a quick-start version for when you are on the move, but still want to enjoy some super cool and calming results.
REALITY CHECK: Quick Start Instructions:
1) Visual: Notice an object that is currently in your field of vision that you were unaware of previously.
2) Audio: Notice a sound that is currently occurring in your proximity that you were unaware of previously.
3) Touch: Notice something that you are physically touching that you were unaware of previously.
Becoming attentive to these new visual, auditory and kinaesthetic things in your immediate environment can cause your mind to become calm.
REALITY CHECK Full Instructions
Here’s the full instructions for a longer Reality Check for diving deep into your senses to be here now. You can either listen to me guiding you through it by pressing play below on the audio player or read through and follow the instructions below.
1) Notice what you can see: Only look, without labelling. Look at the colours. Look at the shapes. Look at the textures. Look at the distance between objects. Be aware of the space. Focus on individual objects, noticing things about them that you may have missed previously.
2) Notice what you feel: Now notice all that you are touching. Notice your clothes, the ground and the chair, if you are sitting on one. Feel the air dancing all around you. Feel the temperature. Notice how it feels to breathe. Feel life inside and around you. Just feel.
3) Now listen to the sounds: Tune in. Avoid labelling or judging. Just listen. Be super-stereo, tuning into sounds that you may have been missing previously. Are there birds or traffic in the distance? Is there a ticking clock? Or can you hear the sound of the air travelling up and down your nostrils? Tune in and listen as if the volume has been turned all the way up.
4) Now notice the smells: Take your attention to your nose by feeling the air as it enters your nostrils. Simply being fully aware of the air moving in and out of your nose can be an extremely enjoyable experience if you are fully attentive and involved in each breath. While you are at it, focus fully on what you can smell right now. Is the smell sharp or dull, high or low, sweet or sour? Take your attention to your nose and notice how your mind becomes clearer when you do so.
5) Now notice the tastes: Void of food, what tastes are already present within your mouth? Also play with sensory awakening with different foods and drinks. Totally tune in to your taste buds, the textures of the food and, of course, how it tastes. What it is like to hold the liquid temporarily in your mouth before you swallow? How does the food feel between your teeth as you chew? The simplest foods and drinks can be the most delicious experience if you eat consciously.
A Stress Coping Strategy for Anybody…
Having been involved in this field of work for 15+ years, I’ve worked with a whole spectrum of individuals; some of them almost broke, others multimillionaires. Irrespective of the size of their bank balances, however, everyone is equal when it comes to their potential to experiencing stress when they aren’t present and instead caught up in their mind.
The richer folk haven’t necessarily been any happier or less stressed; they’ve just had different problems to deal with. It’s become clear to me that living stress free is not d by how financially successful a person is, but by how calm, clear and ‘here’ they are in daily life.
By filling your attention by exploring your senses you leave less attention for the thinking mind. Naturally you think less and become more fulfilled with whatever you are seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting. To learn even easier and quicker ways to stop stress and keep calm by staying present, start your 30 day free trial of my Calm Clan.
