You train your body to lift heavy weights. You adapt to healthier eating habits that fuel your body to lift these heavy weights, give you energy, and provide mental and physical stamina.
You may crash and burn when an upset happens, when change throws you off course, or old wounds get reopened. How can you train your brain to strengthen its own muscle allowing you to remain calm in adversary, honour what your triggers are telling you, and build more resilience?
Just like physical muscles, your brain has the power to grow stronger with consistent use and training. When life throws emotional curveballs SA国际影视传媒� like feeling triggered, resentful, stuck, or drowning in self-pity SA国际影视传媒� itSA国际影视传媒檚 easy to spiral. But you can train your mind to respond differently.
You can learn ways to flex your brain muscle and build emotional resilience which will help support you on your path to overcoming feeling stuck, overwhelmed and without tools in your toolbox.
The first step is awareness. Notice when youSA国际影视传媒檙e being triggered or slipping into self-pity. Pay attention to your thoughts. Are they looping on the same resentment or regret? Recognizing these patterns is like finding the knot in a muscle. You canSA国际影视传媒檛 release what you havenSA国际影视传媒檛 noticed and when you dig in there, your body will respond.
Practice the pause. Before reacting, pause and take a deep breath. This creates a gap between the trigger and your response. That tiny space is where your power lies. Flex your mental muscle by choosing to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting on impulse. This will take repetition and before long, your go-to will be to remain calm and deliver a response built from thought vs. habitual, and often damaging, reactions.
Ask yourself: SA国际影视传媒淚s this thought true?SA国际影视传媒� Often, resentment and self-pity are fuelled by exaggerated or one-sided stories we tell ourselves plus triggers we consciously or unconsciously know about. Challenge those thoughts. Could there be another perspective? Where is the proof that what you're thinking is, indeed, true?
Get moving. Physical movement shakes up the feeling of being mentally stuck. Go for a walk, stretch, or exercise. Moving your body signals your brain to shift out of SA国际影视传媒渟tuck modeSA国际影视传媒� and into flow. When you're focused on exercising, your brain cannot put all its energy into ruminating. This small act reminds you that change is possible, even in hard moments.
You can always find something to be grateful for. Even when you feel low, list three things you appreciate having in your life. Then, take one small action such as a text to a friend, cleaning a space in your home, or drinking water. Gratitude softens resentment, and action breaks the grip of helplessness.
Flexing your brain muscle is just like going to the gymSA国际影视传媒攊t takes repetition. The more you practice these steps, the easier they become. Over time, your mind becomes stronger, more flexible, and more capable of rising above lifeSA国际影视传媒檚 emotional storms.
