Do this the next time you feel triggered!
Our emotions, when triggered, can get the best of us sometimes. Instead of reacting emotionally to a triggering event, pause and assess your headspace. Doing so can reduce the chances of regret for an impulsive action taken in the heat of the moment.
Here’s how you can be mindful of your emotions on a moment to moment basis:
1. When feeling an emotion, don’t be quick to label it good or bad
Feelings are emotions with a purpose. Feelings when presented to our awareness, serve as a guide for us to process the experience we are faced with. Feeling sad with a passed on loved one would feel differently to feeling sad because you’ve lost the chance to participate in a group event. Yet both occasions of sadness allow us to go deeper into understanding our needs in various situations.
In the case of a lost loved one, feeling sad could be a signal of reminiscing about the past and lessons learnt to be present each moment and to cherish the people who are still in our lives.
In the case of losing the chance to participate in a group event, feeling sad could be a push, a motivation for you to hone your skills so you can participate in the next round.
2. Where in your body are you feeling the emotion?
Feel where the emotion is held strongly in your body:
Is your breath shallow, or deep?
Is your heartbeat racing or stable?
Are your limbs cold or warm?
Are you shaking uncontrollably or are you calm and centered?
3. Process the emotions
In the way you most prefer, record the emotion you’re feeling, the physical reactions of your body and the thoughts playing in your mind. This can be in the form of:
Talking to yourself
Writing onto a journal
Speaking to a trusted friend, family
Sitting with the feelings
Recording your voice as you process the feelings
Make it a habit to be present with yourself and get curious on how your body is showing you the physical, emotional and psychological manifestation of feeling an emotion.
4. Daily mindfulness practice
One practice I recommend to my clients is to practice mindfulness throughout the day, set an alarm that goes off at various intervals during the day with the prompt:
How am I feeling now?
What do I need at this moment?
You can set this alarm to go off every 4 hours, each time you’re having a meal or at the beginning and the end of the day. When you set these stimuli in place, you set yourself up for success in being reflective of your experience and you have better control and management of your emotions.
Now I want to hear from you, what practices keep you mindful and which of these tips are your favorite? Let me know in the comments section below! And if you’re not yet subscribed to our newsletter, be sure to sign up here >>> JOIN THE TRIBE because you’ll receive weekly encouragement from yours truly 😊
