Transcriber: Anna Sobota Reviewer: David DeRuwe
By a show of hands,
how many of you all have experienced some sort of stress today?
OK, more hands, all right.
Because if you didn’t raise them, then you were lying, all right.
So stress can come from different sources:
a toxic work environment, relationship challenges
or just trying to juggle work, family, life.
The thing is, stress isn’t always a bad thing.
It can be really motivating
when we’re trying to reach a deadline or complete a project.
But stress is sneaky,
and over time,
you may develop subtle symptoms,
such as a slight headache, an escalated heart rate or forgetfulness.
And over time, these symptoms can build
and turn into far more serious health problems,
some of which include a higher risk of heart disease and stroke,
weight gain, and my personal favorite, escalating the aging process,
because we all want to look old.
Chronic stress, if not managed, will turn to burnout.
And as someone who has been through burnout,
I can attest it is not something you wish to go through.
In 2005, I reached burnout, and I felt like I had hit a wall.
I was 65 pounds overweight, I was suffering from chronic migraines
and digestive issues,
so I took a drastic step
and I exited a 26-year career at a high paying salary,
causing significant financial hardship for many years.
And that is what can often occur when we reach burnout.
In a moment of desperation,
we make a drastic decision that is not only painful,
but can be very difficult to overcome.
So this evening, I would like to walk you through a technique
that can help you manage stress and other negative emotions in the moment
by developing your mental fitness.
Now, mental fitness is the act
of quieting the left analytical side of your brain,
where all those negative emotions bubble up,
whether it’s fear, stress, anxiety, overwhelm, anger, shame or blame,
so that you can then shift to a positive mindset
which resides in your right happy brain.
Now we do this by engaging our senses, and it may look something like this:
So imagine, if you will,
that you are looking at something so intently
that you see colors, shapes, textures,
possibly a reflection on the surface.
Or you could focus on something that you can hear.
It might be the most distant sound that you can hear,
which could be a passing car.
Next, focus on the closest sound that you can hear, which most often is your breath.
Now you can also engage your sense of touch.
And let's do this one together, shall we?
I want you to rub two fingertips together
with such intention that you feel the fingertip ridges of your fingers.
Notice if your fingertips are dry, or are they smooth?
What’s the temperature of your fingertips?
Now this technique takes about 10 to 15 seconds to begin to shift
from the negative to the positive mindset,
and studies have shown using MRI technology
that when we shift from the negative to the positive,
our brains visibly change.
So I encourage you,
the next time you feel hijacked by those negative emotions,
whether it’s fear, stress, overwhelm, anger,
that you pause and you take a moment to engage your senses,
where you can quiet those negative emotions
and shift to a positive perspective,
where you are better equipped to handle life’s challenges,
like a sound system.
Have a great evening.
(Applause)