FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY #20
“Stress Less Now: 5 Steps to Peace of Mind and Self-Empowerment” with Amy McCae.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hello
My name is Amy McCae. Happy to have you here! Welcome to Stress Less Now: 5 Steps to Peace of Mind and Self-Empowerment.
I help CEO’s and small business owners reduce stress and overwhelm so they can have more time for fun, family, and even and themselves. I often work with leaders and those seeking to have an impact in the world but may be struggling with clarity, confidence, and peace of mind.
The steps in this guide will lead you to peace of mind and self-empowerment. Each idea has a skill set or practices for you to do that develop self-awareness and cultivate conscious living. Self-awareness is one domain of emotional intelligence. All personal and professional successes are dependent upon your level of emotional intelligence.
This skill set has been taught to countless individuals and numerous organizations with the intent of improving communication and relationships, creating healthier and happier lives, supporting employees, increasing success, and reducing stress.
These practices serve as a journey of self-discovery leading to clarity, confidence, peace of mind as well as the capacity to make conscious decisions and to be a visionary leader.
If you would like to learn more about my credentials, listen to radio shows, read my story, or view some testimonials please visit my websites at www.amymccae.com
Should you be interested in learning more about how I can support you or your organization please email me amymccae@gmail.com I will give also give you my ALL new Hack Your Mind for Peace of Mind guide that goes even deeper.
The five skills you need to stress less, feel empowered, and have peace of mind are; Awareness, Acceptance, Attitude, Action, and Acknowledgement.
Awareness is first simply because if you do not know who you are, what you want, or what you are dealing with you simply can not make a conscious choice, solve any problem, or make the impact you desire. As it turns out ignorance is not bliss and realistically the truth can never be hidden for long.
Awareness is cultivated various ways, One is through the active practices of things such as self assessments. Some of the most common include Myers-Briggs and Enneagram. While I find these useful and certainly encourage self-discovery, you can start with a simple worksheet on discovering your core values. You can find these online or when you work with me it is one of the first things we do. The idea is narrow it down to the top five. These will be your deal breakers in personal and professional relationships, your career choices, and in general be a guideline to support you in determining what choices are ideal for you. This will save you some headaches and regret. When you think, speak, and act inline with your values you live an empowered life both personally and professionally.
Another way to develop awareness is to simply get quiet. To do this you must train your brain through some type of attention based practice such as mindfulness meditation. Self-awareness and mindfulness actually have the same definition; to pay attention on purpose without judgement. You do not need to be a monk to practice monitoring what’s going on with you.
Self-awareness is a key aspect of emotional intelligence and it requires you understand your thoughts, emotions, and how you respond or react to them and others. A good way to start is to simply notice your breath for two minutes before you even get out of bed, before you check your phone, before an important meeting, when you are stressed, or during a transition period during the day. Simply pause. Feel the sensation of air through your nose. Is it warm or cool. Notice the rise and fall of your chest. Is there resistance or ease? Bring awareness to the expansion and contraction of your abdomen. Notice the sounds, notice your thoughts, notice the sensations. Continue to bring your attention back to your breath. Your mind will wander. You aren’t trying to control it. You are training it. Notice how you feel when you are done. Your nervous system is connected to your breath. This can rewire your brain and nervous system. This is a perfect way to reduce stress, gain clarity, and check in on how you are feeling.
The second step is Acceptance. At the core of acceptance we have surrender and forgiveness of people and events. It also means admitting you don’t need or even that you are able to control people or events. (Not my strong point either).
Anger is extra baggage weighing you down and preventing you from being amazing. Being angry is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die, it is not serving anyone’s greatest good. My suggestion is to try a 28 day anger diet where you write for 30 minutes a day telling off the people who hurt you. (Don’t send). Then ask for whatever help you need and burn the crap.
Many people find it easier to forgive others than they do themselves. Are you really all that bad? Consider making a list of your accomplishments. (And sometimes getting out of bed counts, too). Then, spend some time doing the things you love. Put it on your calendar like any other appointment! I continually hear from clients that they “don’t have time.” You have time for what you make time for and trust me when I say that there is a story in your mind that you believe and it has nothing to do with time but more about self-worth and avoidance of yourself and your situation. I can help you figure this out, by the way… There is also a mindfulness based practice referred to as “Loving Kindness” that you can do for yourself and others. Practice self-care. Practice kindness.
You may not be able to control people, places, and events BUT you can choose your attitude about them. Your attitude is based off your own personal perception. Attitude is the 3rd essential life skill.
Think for a moment about optical illusions. Isn’t it fascinating how you see an image only one way until someone comes along and points out an entirely new way to view the image? Suddenly there are two ideas and neither is wrong. At any point in dealing with challenging people you have the ability to choose how you perceive them as well as the situation. A little compassion an empathy go along way. Imagine yourself in their shoes. You can either emotionally react or you can consciously respond. PRACTICE THE PAUSE is a common phrase in mindfulness based practices. Pause, notice your breath, respond from this space.
I would also add to start naming the emotion that you are feeling. AKA Affect labeling or mindful emotions. This is where emotional intelligence begins. You have to know what you are feeling!!! Neuroscience has proven that simply naming the emotion you are feeling deactivates the part of your brain responsible for managing stress (amygdala) and allows you access to the part of your brain responsible for higher levels of thinking (pre-frontal cortex) This is how you come a visionary. Use the part of the brain designed for it.
Pause, notice your breath, name the emotion, choose consciously. With practice this can rewire your brain to do this more automatically. This is how you cultivate compassion, reduce stress, and become a visionary leader.
Ready, set, action. The 4th skill is Action. What is a dream without a plan and without action? For this I suggest a Wheel of Life worksheet. I have an excellent one that I received in Life Coaching training that I use with clients. You can, however, find several on the internet. Basically it will help you divide your life into categories rating each one so you know where to start. Choose only one or two. When you work in one area everything else follows. AND it is not so darn overwhelming. Perfectionism and multi-tasking are over-rated.
Next, set a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timed. Use action verbs that resonate with you. Such as “reduce” weight instead of “lose.” You don’t want to find it again do do you? Find someone to be your accountability partner and for support. Make sure whatever you choose doesn’t make you feel burned out but instead fuels your flame. Your goals should be related to your passion, not something you think you have to do. You intend to be successful, right?
AND again, get some support.
Last, but certainly not least is acknowledgment. Acknowledgment is gratitude. Gratitude is one of the simplest ways to shift energy, change your perception, and create peace of mind.
Gratitude is a way of life. A way of appreciating all that you have, wish for, and even for the things you have not wished for and didn’t want. There is a quote that says; “Someone once gave me a box of darkness. It took years for me to see that, too, was a gift.”
There are numerous ways to express gratitude. Personally, list writing doesn’t do it for me. Gratitude lists with an accountability partner work well. There is something incredibly special and validating to your existence and efforts when someone witnesses your life and your love.
You can also create a joy jar by getting small pieces of paper and making notes of happy experiences. Then, in a week or month read through them. They may surprise you. I also find being of service brings feeling of gratitude. All in balance, of course. I once had a woman tell me that she was burned out from “giving.” If this is the case review step one.
At its simplest find beauty in even the smallest things each day, it matters.
If you use the skills presented in the practices of Awareness, Acceptance, Attitude, Action, and Acknowledgment you may reduce stress and overwhelm, cultivate compassion and emotional intelligence, and gain clarity and confidence. All of which will transform your health, relationships, and success. This is truly a space of empowerment!
If you would like to dig a little deeper into these concepts and more as well as learn how I can support you or your organization please set up a phone consultation by emailing me at amymccae@gmail.com or message me for the even deeper Hack Your Mind for Peace of Mind guide.
Thank you,
Amy McCae
Mindfulness Executive and Leadership Coach. Accredited and Proven Workplace Wellbeing. Holistic Wellness Expert.
Want More Great Tips?
Connect With Amy on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amymccae/
Amy’s Website: www.amymccae.com
Five Minute Friday is brought to you by Ben Albert of Balbert Marketing LLC
