BREAKING NEWS!
If you've lived in America for the past eight years, you've heard those words as much as you've been reminded you're living in "unprecedented times." Maybe you've also noticed that you're feeling more on-edge, pessimistic, and unable to make decisions, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
What makes this particularly difficult is that not only are you living during a time when we've experienced massive changes in how we live and what is normal, but all of those changes are broadcast directly to you 24 hours a day.
It seems that everywhere you look, listen, or read, there is something else that feels urgent and necessary, and since your brain craves certainty, it has been working overtime , looking for everything it perceives as a threat.
Why does everything feel so scary and overwhelming?
It goes back to the caveman days. Millions of years ago, staying on high alert was necessary and even helpful for our ancestors. They were living in a dangerous world where everything truly was unprecedented. They didn't know fire burned or jumping off a cliff would kill them so they started training their brains to be extra careful to stay alive.
But what about now? Why are we stuck feeling anxious and overwhelmed when we're really completely safe in the moment? (You really are safe right now - you're just reading a blog.), The answer is annoying: even though we know not to stick our heads in a campfire or jump off a cliff, our caveman brains haven't kept up with the more developed and thinking parts of our brains. And, your brain doesn't know the difference between a thought and a fact, it just does its thing and makes you feel anxious.
But what if you could train your brain to focus on what matters, what's safe, and what you want to see, even when things are uncertain?
Introducing your Reticular Activating System (RAS).
The RAS is the part of your brain that acts like a filter, prioritizing information that's important to you. So if you're constantly worried about political drama, you'll find yourself bombarded with negativity and see more political drama everywhere you look because you're worried about it. You told your brain to look for it - even when you didn't mean to.
The RAS is also why when you think about that brand new green Lexus GX you've been dying for, you suddenly see them everywhere. It's why you can ignore a crowd of people at Target but immediately hear your name when someone says it. It's on alert for those things because they matter to you - even if only in the moment.
The good news is that you can retrain your RAS to shift your focus so you move from feeling anxious and on edge to calm and in control by showing your brain what to look for.
Here's how.
Visualize What You Want: Instead of replaying worst-case scenarios, take time to vividly imagine what you do want. Studies show visualization can create new ways of thinking that change your brain and how it thinks.
Focus on What's Working: It's easy to get caught up in the negative - there's plenty of it out there. But buried in all the breaking news and noise, there's always progress being made, you just have to look for it on purpose.
Stop Trying To Control Everything: Uncertainty can be uncomfortable, but it's also a reality. Trying to control the uncontrollable will only lead to frustration, anxiety, and stress. Instead, focus on what you can control: your thoughts, your actions, and your reactions.
Can we agree that imagining what you want would feel so much better than always going to the worst-case scenario? By retraining your RAS, you can change how you think about what you think and break the cycle of anxiety and overwhelm. You'll finally be able to relax and focus on what's truly important to you with more peace, clarity, and calm.
Ready to feel more calm and certain? Let's talk about how I can help you navigate uncertainty with calm, and confidence, and have fun living life the way you've been wishing you could. Contact me today!
תגובות