Responding……….

This week in our mindfulness and meditation class we have been looking at and discussing how we REACT to situations and people in an automatic way without thinking, this is habitual and happens every day.

Mindfulness encourages us to notice when we are REACTING and to take a pause, take a breath, take a moment and RESPOND instead. This avoids spending the next few hours in our heads regretting something that we did or said in the "heat of the moment”.

I often think of the image of a tower of cards (something I loved playing with my grandad when I was young) and how each time you put one on top of another the tower has the potential to collapse. At this moment in time so many people have a reduced capacity to cope with what life is sending them right now, and coping mechanisms are stretched to the limit. This is especially the time when we need to use this technique to ensure we RESPOND in a respectful and controlled manner, rather than just reacting.

The best technique to use is the 3 minute breathing space, when you are about to do something emotionally take a 3 minute break to have some really deep breaths, centre yourself and only come back when you are ready to respond in a better way. This could mean saying “can you give me a minute I just need to think about that”, or “I am too busy to answer that right now”, “I would just like some time to process what you have asked me”. Put yourself in charge of the conversation and make sure you are looking after yourself in the process. It takes practice, but is especially useful at work for the YES folks who then suffer burnout (you know who you are).

Let me know how you get on ….

With love

Wendy x