opening eyes, llc
october
2008 | |
|
|
|
|
Choosing Health
Inside and Out
Despite Life's Stressors
Dear Friends, Have any of you felt the stress of the world lately? Chances are that
your answer is a resounding yes. And it's no wonder. With fluctuations in the stock market and mortgage rates, a diminishing availability of credit, the increasing degradation of the environment, wars around the world, persistent inequitable treatment of women and girls, and the uncertainty
of our upcoming presidential election, it is easy to fall into a negative, pessimistic place.
It is how we respond to these stressors that will make all the
difference in the health of our beings, inside and out.
Three responses to life's stressors are possible:
1) We deny our feelings;
2) We become so engulfed by them that they become pervasive in all we think, say, and do; or
3) We identify and accept
our feelings which may include sadness, despair, loneliness, exhaustion and/or fear.
The results of options 1 and 2 are quite obvious. Whether we deny or become stuck in a negative mood, in order to 'handle' it we engage in unhealthy ways of being and living. We may work endless hours, drink, smoke or even exercise to excess, become insular, isolating ourselves from others, or drag down everyone around us with our negative energy. Such ways of being and behavior spell u-n-h-e-a-l-t-h-y inside and out.
If we identify our emotion, we can choose how to be
- physically, emotionally and mentally -
and then act from that self-nuturing, centered place.
If we recognize and embrace our negative emotion(s), option 3, we are headed in a healthy direction. What if I find that I am scared about the market, for instance? Rather than denying or becoming a victim of my fright, as in options 1 and 2, now, having identified how I feel, I can begin exploring my emotion. Is there evidence to support my fear? If not, I can choose to let it go. If there is evidence (decreasing worth, upcoming retirement), I can ask myself, "Is approaching the evidence from a place of fear serving me or hurting me?" If my fear is hurting me, which is most likely the case, the first thing I can recognize is that I have options! Here are a few:
First is the realization that my assets are falling (regardless of my emotional response). Given that, what would happen if if I 'tried on' another emotion, say of wonder, wonder about possible strategies I might take to secure my portfolio? Wonder itself, versus fear, creates a totally different tempo, a healthy one, inside and out.
I invite you to take a moment to test this out. Imagine something that really scares you. Notice how your body (muscles, breathing pattern) reacts. Listen to messages you are saying to yourself. Now take that same incident and come to it from a place of wonder, of curiosity. Any shifts in your body or self-talk arise? Is there now a growing sense of calm, openness and possibility versus confusion, constriction and panic? Coming to any stressor from a place of wonder, curiosity and compassion shifts you, which in turn opens up potential actions that your fear otherwise blocks.
Given that we are physical, emotional and thinking beings, we can initiate any shift in our way of being, from any angle. Rather than begin with shifting my emotion (from fear to wonder), I can begin shifting my body. I can release my muscles (maybe through a massage, jacuzzi, or by lying on a chaise lounge in the shade). If my breathing is fast and shallow, the corresponding breathing pattern of fear, I can breathe in through my nose (for a count of five), and more slowly out through my mouth (for a count of eight). Since physical shifts necessarily alter emotional states, I will automatically become more calm and centered.
From this new place, I can choose how to move forward. Perhaps I will decide to read some expert advice from a place of possibility (versus panic) in order to decipher if I want to take any action with my holdings. I may call a trusted friend telling her how I've been feeling, how I want to feel, asking her to assist me, and thanking her for listening. There are any number of ways that I can choose to physically, emotionally and mentally open up, (versus close down or keep myself in victim mode), resulting in healthy possibilities, despite the stressors in my life.
How we choose to respond to life's "potholes and bumps in the road" is directly related to our health, inside and out.
Dana
|
ticle Headline |
Coaching Eye to Eye
|
Are there some stressors in your life that you'd like to address? Do you want to move forward in a new direction, but you're not sure how to make it happen?
If you answered Yes to these
questions, I recommend you give
coaching a try. As your coach, I will
help you identify, fine-tune and pursue
your goals.
CONTACT ME to learn about coaching and/or for a complimentary session:
510.486.1144, or by email:
dewhitaker@openingeyes.net
|
Book News
Why is microfinance essential BOTH internationally and
right here in the Bay Area?
Transforming Lives $40 at a Time
Women + Microfinance: Upending the Status Quo
Hosting for a Cause*
Are you looking for a way to boost your relationships with clients, colleagues, club members or friends? Using Transforming Lives ( www.openingeyes.net)
as a backdrop, I offer a presentation about microfinance vividly
outlining the history, reasons for, challenges, successes and ways to
get involved in what is believed to be the most successful alternative
available today to help individuals pull themselves out of poverty's
dehumanizing grip with dignity and hope. Each talk is tailored to your needs
and desires. For information on speaking engagements and book purchases, please contact me at: dewhitaker@openingeyes.net.
*A portion of every book sold is donated to
organizations whose clients are in the book.
.
|
|
|
|
Dana E. Whitaker
opening eyes, llc
|
Join My Mailing List
|
|
|
|
|
|
