THE WISDOM OF A 4-YEAR OLD

"Switch it off and switch it on again"

On a recent trip to see my family, I was talking to my brother about computers and how they can sometimes cause a huge amount of stress when they go wrong. My brother told me, his 4-year old Grandson (my Great Nephew, Joe) had the perfect solution. As we discussed this, it occurred to me it wasn't only a brilliant solution for computers, but a great lesson in life and in positive Stress Management. What was it that he said?

Well, as you know, computers can be a wonderful asset, but sometimes when they go wrong, the only solution is (in Joe's words) to "Switch it off and switch it on again". Often when the computer reboots, it works perfectly and can be the quickest solution to the problem.

Sometimes when we start to feel angry, upset, stressed or overwhelmed, we also need to follow the same advice. We need to put a bit of space between ourselves and what we feel, so that we can come up with a calm, rational solution to whatever's going on in our lives. We too need to reboot.

Our bodies are designed to balance periods of activity with periods of inactivity and this gives both our physical and mental wellbeing a boost. This is why we often come up with our best solutions when we're not trying to 'fix' a situation.

So next time you're feeling under pressure, upset and about to explode, follow Joe's advice :

Switch it off

Take some time to remove yourself from the situation which is upsetting or aggravating you and making you feel off-balance. Take a walk round the block, take a few days away, go and do some exercise, do some meditation, work with a breathing & relaxation CD or switch the task you're working on. If you need to, get some advice from someone you trust to give you honest, open and unbiased feedback.

Use deep breathing where you draw the breath deep down into the lungs and expand the diaphragm and, as you breath out, let go of whatever it is that is bothering you and send any negative energy down into the earth to be neutralised. When we slow down our breathing, we also calm down our heart rate, respiratory rate and release tension.

Switch it on again

When you've had time to calm down and think things through rationally and peacefully, come back to the issue you were working with, giving it new, more positive energy and with a view to finding positive solutions. You may not be in control of every situation, but you are in control of how you deal with it.

So, when the going gets tough, give yourself time to relax and reboot.

If you have any feedback or questions about this or any other Breathing Space article, please feel free to contact me by phone or email. I'm always happy to hear from you.


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