Unprecedented Stress Calls For Unprecedented Thinking

Right now you may be stressed out because of employment, health, money, family issues,  addiction, loneliness, or absence of something to look forward to. All of these are impacts caused by the current world-wide pandemic.

Personally, in my family, we have been dealing with many of the above. It is not easy. It can be such a challenge to keep faith and hope alive. There are so many unknowns. Wow!

However, it’s important to remember that regardless of the stressors, there is always something we can control–ourselves. Specifically, we can control our thinking. How and what we think–that is always our choice.

Unprecedented stress calls for unprecedented thinking. 

Often, it seems that when we are stressed it is impossible to control our thinking. Our minds  seem out of control like a pinball machine on steroids!  

What can we do?  How can we see things in an unprecedented way?  Here is a simple and yet absolutely powerful way to calm your mind and direct your thinking so that you not only have more peace and fulfillment, but also accomplish more. 

One of the first tools I teach to leadership teams or 1:1 coaching clients is called the Brain Dump.  

When you get stressed out, get the paper out.

The Brain Dump:

1. First, get a piece of paper and brain dump all the things you are stressed about.  Simply dump your mind out on paper. Don’t think, just let the pen go and write down all of your stressors on paper. Write until you have nothing else to write.
2. Next, review what you have written and dump your thoughts again until you have nothing else to write. Look over what you have written and try again to dig deeper and dump more of your brain onto the paper.  
3. Now, look over what you have written and see which thoughts stick out to you. Prioritize your top three stressors and identify the top stressor you want to reduce.
4. Take your top stressor and brain dump it on a separate piece of paper as described above and dive as deep as you can. Write all the thoughts you can about that stressor.  
5. Now that you have a good idea of the ins and outs of this stressor, get another piece of paper and Brain Dump solutions. Get into great detail of how you can resolve the stressor on a physical, emotional, mental, social and spiritual level. List pros and cons of your solutions.  Additionally, identify the cost of not taking actions and the benefits of doing so. Implement your solutions, evaluate, and improve.

This is one powerful way to direct your thinking when it seems impossible. Do this daily, particularly during high stress, and watch how you feel.  As you do this, you will have more clarity of thought and a plan of how to resolve problems more quickly.  

Imagine the power of doing this with your team at work! Amazing!

Sending good vibes and blessings your way!