[Alicia Davis] Have you ever had the experience that your mind is just going in a bazillion different directions, and because of that, you start feeling overwhelmed or anxious, maybe even frustrated? Now, you might notice the feelings first before you notice what’s going on in your mind. And that’s what we want to talk about today. There is a connection between the mind and the body, what we think and how we feel. Right, Stacie? And that’s what we want to just talk a little bit about today, like how to stay a little more calm even in the midst of all the crazy, the chaos, right?
[Stacie Watson] Absolutely. And you know, one of the things I know can happen for me, and I think it’s very common for many of us, is this idea that when I feel that things are chaotic, I tend to focus on the things that aren’t, that aren’t working, that aren’t the way I want them to be. I can kind of get negative, to be perfectly honest, and it’s hard sometimes to get out of that mode. So once I start noticing what I’m not happy about, it seems easier to continue to focus on that than anything else. And what’s that all about?
[Alicia Davis] Well, it’s really about how our brain is hardwired and how it works under stress, and it actually is called negativity bias. And basically what it means is the brain is looking for all the ways that it’s trying to keep you safe, but it’s looking for all the things that are going to go wrong. And so we actually it shows up like we can notice it in our brain when we start going, what if, like, we start thinking all about the things in the future and all the things like we’re planning for, all the scenarios that are not going to work. Or we’re just really, we start noticing that we’re critical or judgmental, and so part of it is noticing when that pattern, when those words start happening in your own mind, right? The shift is very much about how do I bring that more to just what is right in front of me right now. What do I have control over? One of the things I like to say is where we put our focus – whatever we focus on – expands. Focus on the solution versus the problem. And that’s really, that’s really part of mindfulness, and that’s what we really explore in our Finding Calm in the Chaos session, decreasing stress through mindfulness. And we’ve got that coming up in our Learning Academy on August 27th – the end of August, and you can check that out at Academy.TLStransforms.com. And thank you so much for listening. I’m Alicia Davis…
[Stacie Watson] I’m Stacie Watson…
[Alicia Davis] We wish you a little bit of calm in the middle of whatever chaos your day is today. Thanks so much.
[Stacie Watson] Thank you.
