- Reduce Stress and Procrastination in 10 Seconds - Sarah Fleming
Are you keyed up and anxious before meetings? Are you nervous about asking your boss for a raise? Have you been putting off something you need to do?
You can use a simple stress reduction technique that combines deep breathing and positive affirmations to calm yourself and get ready for any situation.
Take a Deep Breath to Reduce Stress
Everyone has heard the advice, “Take a deep breath.” The key is in how you take that breath. The first thing you need to do is learn how to take slow deep breaths.
- Start by taking a slow deep breath in, counting to five.
- Then exhale slowly, counting to five again.
Focus on the process of breathing. Feel the air moving through your nose, and your chest expanding as the air enters and then leaves your lungs.
Breathing this way relaxes your body, calming your mind and moving your attention away from the thoughts that are causing your stress.
Redirect Your Thinking When Stressed
When you're stressed, you most likely have negative thoughts about the thing or situation causing your stress. You start thinking things like:
“I know John’s going to shoot down my ideas in the meeting. He’s been here longer than me and everyone is going to listen to him.”
“I really need to sit down and get the bills paid. It’s not that hard, and won’t take long. Why don’t I just do it already? I’m such a loser.”
Taking a deep breath helps stop these thoughts, and adding a positive affirmation, or incantation as Eric Maisel calls them in his book, Ten Zen Seconds, replaces the negative thoughts with positive ones that reinforce what you want to achieve.
In his book, Maisel includes 12 customizable incantations that can be used alone or in combination to get you in the frame of mind you want to be in.
Affirmations for Procrastination
If procrastination is causing stress, Maisel suggests using an affirmation like, “I am taking action,” or “I am doing my work.”
While you take a deep breath say the phrase slowly out loud or in your head. Break the incantation in half to match your breath.
"(Breath in) I am (breath out) taking action."
Affirmations for Stressful Situations
When you are facing a difficult obstacle like entering a meeting where you know people are going to oppose your opinions, you can use affirmations like, “I am equal to this challenge” or, “I expect nothing,” to help you say or do what you need to without getting yourself tied in knots about the outcome of the situation.
Stop Procrastinating and De-Stress with Custom Affirmations
It’s important to use an affirmation that works for you and is specific to what you are doing. You can also combine a few affirmations with a couple of breaths to calm yourself and prepare yourself for what is ahead.
If you are procrastinating about making a difficult phone call, you might try something like:
- "(Breathe in) I am (breathe out) taking action."
- "(Breathe in) I am (breathe out) making this phone call."
Or, if you are about to ask your boss for a raise, and find you are anxious about the results of the conversation you could try:
- "(Breathe in) I expect (breathe out) nothing."
- "(Breathe in) I am (breathe out) equal to this challenge."
- "(Breathe in) I am (breathe out) asking for a raise."
Combining deep breaths with affirmations helps you focus by removing you from the confusion of thoughts that are causing your stress, calming your mind and body, focusing your attention on what you want to achieve.
Source:
Maisel, Eric, Ten Zen Seconds: Twelve Incantations for Purpose, Power and Calm. Naperville: Sourcebooks, Inc., 2007.
Heather Searl - I'm a freelance writer and user experience consultant. I started my career as a technical writer, editor and then documentation manager ...
