Moments of Intensity
A weird thing happened in my excercise routine the other day. I was doing crunches, you know the ab excercise, and my abs started to burn. Not a bad burn where I was hurting myself but something in there was going on. I focused on the excercise, literally took my mind and pretended the pain was not there and concentrated on the movement. Within moments the burn went away while I was still doing the same excercise!
I was fascinated that I had pushed through the pain against my body with the use of my mind. I started to think about how my body reacts to moments of internal strain. As it turns out our bodies are made and designed to handle stress. Not high levels as anything that is not good, in large doses, tends to not be good but our bodies are designed to process through sometimes instantly and recover.
One of the ways I counter act bad stress is with good stress. Our bodies release stress as it distributes itself through out the body in many ways. When you stress your body physically stress is released. Not only from your body but as you focus on the actual excercise or mechanics you engage your mind in positive stress.
Now I am no master in managing the intense moments of my life on a consistent basis. I just know that just as a firefighter lights a back fire to control the direction of an oncoming, out of control flame, we can control those moments.
Now just to clarify intensity is not always conscious. For example I have had moments that I don’t outwardly feel stressed but my body is. For example when I have some intensity going on around me my neck will get tense and painful. I may not know exactly what it is that is causing the stress but I know that some sort of therapy to remove the toxins from my mind and body is needed.
For the conscious stresses I simply do my best and forget the rest. I know that I cannot fuel creativity in the office so when really challenged with an intense moment, I get up and I walk outside. I may walk around the building, to my car or just stand, stretch and regroup. What I’ve noticed is that no matter how time sensitive the issue, no matter how outwardly urgent it is, I am no good without being intact. I know when my attitude has been affected the LAST thing I should do is pick up the phone or go talk to someone.
See, in stressfull moments your body and mind need time to reconnect. Have you ever forgotten to breathe? I do it all the time. Just like cardio excercise you have to breathe through the big moments, take inventory of the situation after you are back to a state of creativity and then stress your mind the right way to solve or facilitate a solution. One thing I know is that if it is a big challenge it will be there when you get back. I just want to be here in the future to enjoy all the fruits of my dedication throughout life. It all starts with your recovery in any situation.
So breathe through moments of intensity. Figure out what you need at those times. Maybe bring your ipod to work and listen to some music. Bring some baroque music or classical music to the office, it is proven to help the flow of creativity, and really engage. Take breaks, walks, etc., to keep your body and mind in flow. As the world gets more intense be ready with a well poised and centered self.
