As humans, we're hard-wired to think negatively 🙅🏻
This natural inbuilt mechanism is what helped our ancestors from being killed by environmental threats thousands of years ago - threats that we no longer need to worry about.
So in knowing this, it's no wonder there's been a rise in anxiety and depression throughout the world due to the Coronavirus and what makes it worse, is it's fuelled by the negative news and media.
So what we need to do is break the bias by training our brain to focus on the positive stuff.
Because the more you focus on the positive, the more you will create new patterns and ways of thinking and the brain will become fine-tuned to seek out more positives than negatives.
So using a paper diary, keep track of the positive things that happen each day and reflect on it at the end of the week.
👉🏻 When you wake up, write down 3-5 things you're grateful for
👉🏻 Before you go to bed, write down 3-5 things that went well that day on the Sunday page
👉🏻 On Sunday, take 5 minutes to read and reflect on the things that you were grateful for and the things that went well and focus on these positive feelings
How to manage stress
Are you feeling STRESSED?
In this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment, there's no doubt stress is impacting each and every one of us in one way or another.
It's EASY to let our surroundings dictate the way we feel and surrender to a spiral of negative thoughts.
It's HARDER to fight it because of our innate bias to negativity.
But what you've got to ask yourself is, is it a USEFUL BELIEF? Is this feeling of stress going to benefit you in any way?
And the answer is NO!
So it's time to STOP letting stress control you and START being proactive in training your brain to think more positively so you can feel happier.
Here are some ways you can take back control and overcome stress:
👉🏻 Allow yourself a dedicated 10 seconds to feel stressed and then get on with the rest of your day
👉🏻 Become curious and educate yourself on the issue you're stressed about to become more proactive in dealing with the issue
👉🏻 Reach out to someone and talk it out, don't hold it in
How to be an effective leader through a crisis
Don't let your negative emotions affect others.
I refer to great leaders as being ‘swan-like’ – they’re calm, collected and serene on the surface, all while putting in major unseen effort beneath the water.
When you remain calm, clear and consistent in your direction, you will emit a powerful calming effect, keeping your people level headed and focused on the end goal.
As a leader, this is so important in building what I call ‘follow-ability’.
Remember, leadership isn’t always about what you say.
It’s also about how you ACT.
Send me an email today at john@eps-aus.com if you need some guidance on how to stay calm under pressure.