Change of Plans? How to Stay Positive & Get Back on Track
A few days ago I had one of those days where it seemed everything I thought was going to happen, didn't! I had family coming to visit in NYC and the day that everyone was supposed to travel turned into quite a snow day - flights were canceled, road conditions weren't safe and even my commute to work ended up being a 2 hour endeavor rather than the usual 45 minute ride.
At the end of the day, everyone was safe and eventually did arrive. All was well. But it got me thinking about how to stay calm when plans change.
Now I am a positive person, so I already tend to see the bright side. As I was stuck on the train on my way to work that day I closed my eyes and relaxed. Even when the train was packed like sardines I kept finding people to smile at and check in with. But I still arrived late to work feeling flustered.
Thankfully, I have a large toolbox of movements, breathing techniques and more to get me back on track.
Today I wanted to share one new technique to help stay positive even when plans change and also share a few of my go-to tools for getting back on track mentally, emotionally and physically.
Positive Points
Positive Points is a Brain Gym technique and it's one of the simplest ways to get you out of the fight or flight response. It brings attention, awareness and blood flow to the frontal lobes, where your higher reasoning and comprehension resides.
To Do
- Place pads of the fingers gently on the forehead directly above the eyes, halfway between the eyebrows and hairline.
- Close your eyes and breathe slowly.
- When you feel a soft pulse, it means the blood has filled the capillaries in your frontal lobes and you are complete.
- Release and notice how you feel.
Go-To Tools For Getting Back on Track
Click on each for the full how-to.
- PACE - Free EBook to help you and your kids feel more Positive, Active, Clear and Energetic. An all around great go-to set of four techniques that help to destabilize the system and make anything you're doing happen with greater ease. When I arrived late to school on my hectic snowy day PACE was the first thing I did to feel present in my body and ready to teach.
- Gratitude - Discover Grounding In Gratitude In 3 Simple Steps. Gratitude and Positive Points actually have a very similar effect on our brain and body! When we feel grateful, we are activating the frontal lobes where our higher reasoning takes place. As I heard more and more news from my family members that they weren't going to arrive as soon as I had hoped I just kept my sight on how grateful I was for their safety and the rest didn't matter.
- Lazy 8s - A Simple Movement For Success & Ease In Multiple Environments. When we are in a stressful state, our body goes into fight or flight. This causes our eyes to turn slightly outward, keeping our peripheral vision active to look out for danger. As a result our eyes get tired, we can have trouble focusing and our vision can become blurry. Lazy 8s helps coordinate the eyes, calm the body and ensure the right and left hemispheres of the brain are in communication. I ended up doing this with one of my kids at work and was so grateful I did as I benefited just as much as she did!
Remember that these are just a few of many tools and that you know what's best for you and your body. In fact, I would love to hear how you get yourself back on track when there is a huge change of plans! Tell me about it in the comments below.
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Much love,
Kelsey