These are challenging times! And, at times like this, when its so easy to get bumped out of optimal functioning, we must celebrate our capacity to be resilient. There currently is widespread tension and instability nationally as well as internationally. These dynamics can trigger a great deal of reactivity and fear. And, in turn, those can generate a range of harmful behaviors if we don’t monitor and manage ourselves closely.
This is a time when we can draw upon the wonders of attention management in building stability and resilience. In SRM we highlight attention management as an essential skill and use attention management to draw upon our capacity to shift out of states of dysregulation. But in order to do the shift we have to be paying attention. Attention is a true dimension of personal power as long as each of us learns how to first track attention and then make decisions about whether it is helping our stability and optimal behavior or is generating reactivity. Learning to track activation and calming in the body is a component of personal power. It means that you tune into sensations in your body and assess whether they are useful in promoting your stability or not. If they are, you stay with them and sense into that strength. If they are not, you shift your attention away from the negative to something neutral or positive and stay focused on that until the reactivity diminishes.
We each are wired with the natural capacity to be resilient. Unfortunately, too few of us realize how to harness that gift of resilience. Each of the Social Resilience Model (SRM) skills help to train/manage your attention. Our skill of “Shift and Stay” means that in situations where you have negative reactivity (anger, frustration, despair, etc) you notice (in SRM we call that noticing “Tracking”) how it is showing up in your body and then shift your attention to a place in your body that has less or even no reactivity and stay there to let your nervous system settle down. You can also shift by bringing to mind something that gives you a sense of pleasure. It may be another person, an activity, a place where you feel safe and/or appreciated. Your heartrate may slow down, your shoulders may drop, your hands may unclinch…each of our bodies has a way of showing reactivity as well as showing calming. When people tell me about the reactivity that is creating problems for them I often say,”What else is also true in your body?” Almost always there is a place that isn’t as tense. So we go to the place of less tension and stay there…and that resting place can often expand as the nervous system settles down.This is the process of deepening resilience. If you practice shifting from reactivity to calmness your zone of resilience will deepen and you wont be filling your body with harmful stress chemicals.
This is a time in our personal and collective lives to pay attention. Pay attention to what you can do to stay in your Resilient Zone. Pay attention to how you can be a force for good. Pay attention to hope and joy…and how you can share that with others. During these challenging times may each of us be a force for good.
You can write to me at Leitch@thresholdglobalworks.com and let me know how you are building your resilience. I’ll cheer you on!
