Transforming stress on the job.
Letting it go.
Uh oh,
It's been one of those days.
One of those meetings.
One of those disappointments.
In spite of your best efforts,
Things did not go as planned.
In spite of trying to cover all the bases,
A ball was dropped.
It may not have been all your fault.
Or maybe it was.
But the important thing is everyone is upset now.
The team is upset,
As is the powers that be.
It is about as bad as you can imagine.
So what do you do now?
What's your first instinct?
Before you take a potentially wrong course of action,
Step into this meditation.
Allow yourself to be guided through a few minutes of inner self-care.
When difficult things happen,
It may not be obvious to you the level of stress that you experience.
That's why it's important to stop and decompress before taking that next step.
Let us begin.
Stop.
Settle down.
Let yourself close your eyes.
Instead of letting your mind rehash the mistake or misstep,
Simply focus on your breath.
You may notice you haven't even really taken a full breath since the news broke.
So breathe.
Really breathe.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
And as you slow down and breathe,
You may notice a myriad of emotions very close to the surface.
Notice the emotions,
But do not give in to the expression of them.
Breathe in to each one,
Starting now.
Breathe in to any frustration.
Breathe into any fear.
Breathe in to any anger.
Breathe into any shame.
Breathe into any judgement.
Breathe into any disappointment.
Breathe into any disgust.
Breathe into any other emotion you can identify.
With each breath,
Give your emotions a moment as you identify each one,
But nothing more.
When you feel an emotion might be getting the better of your breath,
Press your feet firmly into the floor and imagine you are pulling up the energy of the earth into your body.
Let this sensation overpower any emotional response.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
As you do so,
Imagine that for the next few breaths,
You make a conscious decision to let go of the events that have transpired for now.
For now,
You only want to send your body good vibrations.
Doing this will give you a chance to come to a better understanding of what went wrong and will give you greater clarity as you move to go forward with correcting the mistakes made.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Steady as she goes.
Notice the continued beating of your heart.
Notice that the earth continues its rotation around the sun.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
And be very aware that life still goes on.
As you savor these few minutes of guided meditation,
Recognize that nothing is worth losing your equanimity over.
Balance and harmony can be accessed even in a stressful situation.
Allow yourself to rest completely within this balanced moment.
Allow yourself to again let go and let yourself be.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
Be.
And smile as you rest in the now.
Allow yourself to enjoy this respite.
As you prepare to re-enter your work situation,
Vow to bring this sense of balance and harmony with you as you and your team will work together to right the wrong that occurred.
If you notice your emotions are once again getting the upper hand,
Simply stop and recall these steps to balance.
Do this as often as is necessary during the process.
Things will get worked out without you getting worked up.
Your health will thank you,
As will your team.
