Do you ever have a moment when you feel overwhelmed?
You’re having a powerful emotional reaction to something…?
Or that inner critic is shouting so loudly that you just can’t think straight…?
If so, the powerful techniques I suggest in this week’s blog will really help.
You can use them in any moment when you want to regain a sense of perspective, and break through those negative thought cycles.
Read on to find out more!
1. Up and out
It’s scientifically proven that getting a sense of perspective through DISTANCE really helps break those negative thought cycles.
So (after step one, always self-awareness!) when you notice you’re having thoughts that are unhelpful to you, or a strong emotional reaction to something, take action!
Imagine you are a seagull, rising above the moment in that effortless way they have, soaring above without even flapping their wings.
See the world through the eyes of that seagull: see yourself far below (imagine you can see through the building, if you’re in one); then see the setting you are in: the streets or countryside immediately around you.
Then expand your viewpoint: go higher, and see the landscape spread out beneath you from horizon to horizon, with the you down there just a tiny speck in the centre.
And if that’s not enough, go higher: transform yourself into a satellite being sent into space, able to see the earth from its orbit high up among the stars, with the globe shining beneath you – and that you down there now not even visible.
Once you give yourself that distance, you will be amazed at how it helps, putting the situation and your negative thoughts into perspective.
Which means you are then able to deal with them from a place of strength and rationality.
2. Forwards
A second method of getting perspective has been proven to help: using time.
Instead of rising into the air, this time, imagine yourself travelling into the future.
One day, one week, one month, one year, five years, a decade, 5 decades…
Imagine your journey forward through time.
- What are you doing with your life?
- Who do you have with you on your journey – your family and friends?
- What have you achieved?
Notice how the world looks to you from a decade/ 5 decades into the future.
Notice how you feel about yourself.
And then notice how you feel about that moment then, way back in the past, where you started.
The further forward you go into time, the smaller and more insignificant that moment becomes.
It’s another powerful way of putting situations in perspective, and interrupting those unhelpful thought patterns.
3. Down
Finally, this last method of getting perspective combines both of these approaches.
First, plant your feet firmly on the floor (either sitting or standing).
Notice the connection with the floor, every part of your foot in contact with the ground.
Then imagine yourself growing roots like a tree, down into the earth.
Feel your energy travelling through the floor of your building, down through layers of wood or concrete, deeper, through the soil, through the layers of rock that make up the earth, until you come to the core of the earth.
Feel the energy in the centre of the earth – so powerful the rock is molten. Feel the enormous power and strength of that energy – so much bigger than you.
Imagine what time is like to rock – the billion-year timetable it works to.
Feel the scale on which rock exists: the grandeur and majesty of it; the strength and power of it; the longevity of it.
Notice that human beings and their tiny lifespans are smaller than the day-long lives of the mayfly to us.
So how small is that moment, back then, where this all started, with you sending your energy into the earth?
Then come back into your body, bringing that energy, strength and grounding power back with you, as you slowly travel back through the layers of rock and earth, back into you feet.
Feel yourself absorbing all that power and grounding energy through your feet, and notice it travelling around your body.
This powerfully combines distance and time to help give you perspective and break those negative thought patterns.
Conclusion
As Ethan Kross describes in his book, “Chatter”,
“when our internal conversation loses perspective and gives rise to intensely negative emotions…our stress-response hardware starts firing, releasing adrenaline and cortisol, flooding us with negative emotions, which only serve to further rev up our negative verbal stream”.
When you’re in that moment, it can be really hard to break it.
So the next time you feel that sense of overwhelm, choose one of these approaches.
🌟 You will be activating your parasympathetic nervous system (ie your “calming” system), taking you away from the physiological stress response.
🌟 You will be giving yourself the psychological distance to be able to process your emotions more effectively.
🌟 You’ll have the perspective to be able to recognise your unhelpful thoughts as just that – thoughts. Remember, THOUGHTS AREN’T REAL.
🌟 And you will be calm and distant enough to be able to take action to replace those unhelpful thoughts with positive ones.
Remember, the goal is not to stop the unhelpful reactions completely – that’s an impossible aim, because unhelpful thoughts will just come. (The brain is not always our friend…)
Instead, it’s about enabling you to replace those unhelpful thoughts as quickly as possible with positive ones – reducing the length of time it takes you to do this.
And with these techniques, you can make that gap as little as a few minutes…
Let me help
If you’d like my help to learn tools like these so you can respond powerfully and positively, no matter what your career throws at you, then get in touch!
You can arrange a free initial call to discuss my coaching programmes by emailing me on kirsten@kirstengoodwin.co.uk, or you can book into my calendar here:
To find out more about my coaching programmes, please explore some of my blog posts such as these:
🔥Everything You Need to Know About My Imposter Syndrome Career Coaching
🔥How Much Does Imposter Syndrome Career Confidence Coaching Cost?
🔥9 Common Myths About Career Coaching
Or do get in touch if you have any questions!
Wishing you a positive, productive and Nakedly Confident week! 😁🔥💪
with love 💖
Kirsten xx
p.s. don’t forget, to book into my calendar for your free initial call, click here 😊
