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Every Day We Have The Choice to Rise Up or Sink Down.

At every moment of every day we have the choice to choose one thought over the other. To choose a higher energy state or a lower one. We have the choice to show up as our best self or not. Now, more than ever, we get to recognize the energy we bring to a room.

Great thought leaders consistently highlight how it is our strength and freedom as humans to be able to choose one thought, or one state, over another. They emphasize how being intentional and deliberate in choosing our thoughts influences our feelings and emotional states and how we show up in this world.

Michelle Obama speaks of when they go low, we go high.
Gabrielle Bernstein speaks of choosing a one step higher vibe thought over another.
Tony Robbins brings attention to intentionally choosing our energy state.
Brooke Castillo speaks of thinking deliberately and on purpose.
And, as Victor Frankel says, one of the greatest human freedoms is the ability to choose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances. 

Right now in this world, the Coronavirus is bringing our ability to choose one thought, one state of being, over another, into focus like nothing else that I can remember. It is stripping away all the noise and the regular busyness of life and bringing to focus our mental health strategies and level of emotional fitness. 

Which Thoughts Will We Choose?

How will we set ourselves up for success in our days so that we have stability and calm when there isn’t much stability or calm around us? Guess what warriors, it’s our choice. It’s thought model 101. The thoughts we choose to focus on determine how we feel. 

It’s Our Choice

We get to choose fear or resourcefulness.

We get to choose to lean in to the community or to hoard our own personal stash of toilet paper.

We get to choose to be generous with our resources or fearful and hold them close.

We get to choose to spread the fear or to spread the love.

We get to choose whether to be reactive or proactive.

It is in our reactions and actions where we choose to add drama or to nullify drama.

Every moment of every day we have the choice to rise up or sink down.

Taking Action Changes Your Feeling State

You with me? You ready to choose calm? Choose proaction over reaction? It’s easy to think, think, think yet it’s in the action that change. One of my favorite habit tools models a traffic light, called stop, shift, start. 

STOP:

Stop any mindless consumption of news and negativity. Pay specific attention to what you’re feeding your brain: the TV news, the newspaper, the remember, our thoughts drive how we feel. When we watch the news (or anything on tv), we are taking those thoughts on as their own. Choose where you’re going to get your facts, get them and move on with your day. Also choose when you will check news. Choose a time you will check your selected news source. Don’t buy into the urgency… you don’t need to know the breaking news of which library is closing and where the latest case is at the top of the hour. Stop scratching the itch of fear and uncertainty.

SHIFT:

This is a great time to think of how you’re caring for your wellness pillars in order to increase your immunity. How is your sleep? How clean is the food you’re eating? How about the products you’re using? I hear of a lot of families spraying lysol or Clorox, a substance that once airborne increases reactive airways disease. Seems a bit counter productive, ey? Pay attention to those wellness pillars to increase your immunity and ability to stay calm.  

START:

Start doing the things that we know work to lower anxiety. Get out in nature every day. Move your body. Learn how to bring a mindfulness practice into your life. Look up. stretch. Spend time talking rather than texting people. Think of something you want to learn and learn it. Get a book. Take an online course. I will put some links at the end of this episode.

Future Self

I love thinking of how I want to feel at the end of the day or the end of a week. How do you want to feel once this is over? When you look back at this period out of the office, school, or with the kids home, how do you want to feel?

I shared a story on the podcast this week that makes a difference every day in my actions, coronavirus or not. Our individual actions make a difference. The energy you bring to a situation matters. The conversations you begin matter. The conversations you continue matter. This too shall pass. The sun will come out again. We will go back to work. Kids will go back to school.

When we do and you look back, how do you want to feel about yourself? About how you showed up for yourself? For your family? For your community? How well did you manage your emotions? How well did you manage your emotional state? What sort of energy did you spread to the community? To your family? To yourself?

As a coach, I am very aware that this is a great opportunity to check in with ourselves and our emotional fitness. How well are we managing the stress and overwhelm? I’d like to offer you an all online popular program of mine for half off. This offer is not good after all of this passes but for now, you have the opportunity to learn at home and dig into yourself. I support that and I support you. Use the code PEACE and click on the top option on this page. Point to consider: this program is a great one to do with a friend (remotely, of course). 

RESOURCES

Top Tools to Manage Anxiety: Link to READ or LISTEN 

Relationship Tools Link to READ

News Segment with tips to calm and instructions on the box breath: WJLA news 

SUFFERING + DIRTY PAIN episode: Link to READ or LISTEN to make sure you’re staying in clean pain with the coronavirus and all the . Do your best to look at the fact and at what you can control instead of launching too far into what I call future casting and “what if”’ing.

MINDFULNESS COURSE for 1/2 off. This is a 10-day all online course that will help you bring attention to the things that are helping and harming you in your life and your mindset. Use code PEACE for your special 50% off discount and get started today.

FREE WORKSHEET with DAILY PRACTICES to relieve overwhelm and stress: Click this link on front page of website) If you’re already a newsletter subscriber, the link may not work but no worries! I’ve got you! Make note in the comments below and I’ll send one your way.

BOOKS AND PRODUCTS: My favorite books and products on Amazon