If there is something from past, present or future that is mildly bothersome to you, ask yourself, how might this situation actually be not so bad?
How might this actually benefit me in the end?
When something bad happens, it becomes difficult to divert our mind away from that situation. We can’t change what has happened, happening or could happen, but we can change SPIN ON IT.
Think about a negative throught that is bothering you. Become aware of the direction of movement of this negative thought in your body and try to reverse that movement. See the good in everything that happens to you.
Direct yourseld towards something you want and away from something you don’t want.
Whenever anythign negative happens to you. First take adeep breath and try to answer these 2 questions
- What do you want to feel?
- What do you want to focus on instead of feeling stressed and anxious?
For e.g if you have to give a presentation in front of a large audience, you want be anxious, thinking how audience will react and whether they will like it or not.
You want to get rid of this feeling and want to feel calm.
Now think how might this situation be not so bad?
If you can’t visualize well, just try to sense and feel that situation in your mind.
Just rate the problem on a scale of 0 to 10 depending upon the level of stress and anxiety it is giving you. May be in the level of 3-5 out of 10.
Notice where you feel and sense it in your body. Sometimes people feel that in their chest and sometimes in their belly.
Notice the movement of it. Notice the spin of it.
If it doesn’t have one, that’s fine.
Now imagine that you bring that out of your body and project on a blank wall.
Check if this small excecise has reduced the level of stress and anxiety.
Not take one step further and imagine the shape, size and position of this problem in front of you. Also imagine the movement of this.
Is it clockwise or anti clockwise?
If there is no movement to it, just think what movement it can have?
Notice the speed ot it and direction in which it is moving.
Check your level of stress and anxiety again.
Now go ahead and speed up the spin of this feeling,
Check whether this makes you feel better or worse.
bring it back to the speed it was at initially.
Now imagine to slow it down.
Check what happens to your level of stress now?
Now bring it to a top. Check now the level of stress and anxiety.
Wait for 10-15 seconds and start moving it in an opposite direction.
Check, how it feels now.
Note: When you increase the speed of the spin alot, there is a chance the thing you are thinking about will be disintegrated. Assume that the problem that is giving you stress and anxiety is a person. May be you don’t want that person to get disintegrated. So just imagine that you bring that thing to a size of a needle tip or a dot.
You can also morph that into something better and beneficial thing.
Let that appear in front of you on that imaginary wall where you started this. Notice what that is and how it is beneficial to you.
If you still feel this is not positive or beneficial to you, just add a positive feeling to this. Some love, some compassion.
Now when you feel that it is positive enough, bring it back to the place where the original negative feeling was in your body, may be your chest or your belly.