I’m Gonna Freak Out!

One of my sister’s favorite bands is called LCD Sound System. This is one of my favorite jams from them (YouTube here, please note there are some graphically shocking images… but the music is GREAT!). The lyrics “I’m gonna freak out!” came to mind as I started writing this post…

Recently I moved my blog over from Living Sublime Wellness (dot) com- to, well here. (Smile.) Well, the blog move went well and I was thrilled to be able to have the navigation bar at the bottom (which goes backwards in time to more posts) working again (the little things). What I did not expect was that other pages that were housed on LSW also needed to be moved over.

Oops! I never said I was ‘techy‘. That’s why I had help.

Well, since I never told anyone about those other pages- they didn’t make the move over and there were some glitches with my ezine signup pages and free gifts (lots of nurse entrepreneur speak).

Any-whooo… I realized all of this at the wee hours of the morning and my first thought was: Freak Out!

How Do You Do That?

Followed immediately by my next though: remedy the situation. Followed by the best thought: let it go. I just emailed my web support and left it up to them. If someone signs up for my ezine today- then oh well, for now it’s not working. And it will be soon. If anyone has trouble, guess what? They can email me. No big deal.

Same thing happened when I gave my Reiki talk at the South Dakota Nurse’s Association Annual Convention. The slides died. Well, not really. Turns out the extension cord that was plugged into the projector konked out. No way to ‘plan’ for this. No way to avoid it. It just happened.

Well, as the SDNA team searched out a new cord, I kept on going. I knew my talk. Inside and out. Just as I know Reiki Practice. From memory, I did the best I could. I breathed deep. Smiled along. Made jokes.

They got it fixed and the talk went on without a hitch. At the end of the presentation, a nurse raised her hand and asked me: “How do you do that?” (I am smiling full-faced right now, as I used to ‘not’ do that.)

She was referring to how I stayed calm. How I let it go. How I went on with the talk and did not let it rattle me. At all.

Keep it Calm and Flow On

I actually am not one to join on to slogans, car window stickers or anything ‘groupie’. Yet I must admit; I do love those ‘Keep Calm’ logos. Whoever thought of that is genius. And to add to that, I’ll share with you how I did (do) that on a daily basis.

[Tweet “Here are three ways to stay calm through the stress.”]

• It’s all about perception. How do you see a situation? Is it a catastrophe or a chance to learn something new? Is it a tragedy or space for growth? Many times we stress ourselves out with what we ‘think’ may happen. And guess what? A lot of that worry and strife never comes to fruition. Sure, it was a shocking surprise to have no slides while giving a talk. And I was prepared. I knew the material. I thought about what the audience would have wanted. I took a deep breath and knew that they were not judging me. It wasn’t something ‘I‘ did. The next time you find yourself all wound up in a spin of worry- ask yourself: Is it the truth or am I making something more of this than it seems? What can I exhale and let go of today?
• Exhale. This brings me right into my next point. The breath is your friend. Are you walking around all day with your shoulders up around your ears, holding your breath? Where can you find a second to exhale? When we release in this physical way, with a few deep breaths, we can immediately shift how we feel. The stress and strain is let go with the exhalation and we are given a fresh start with new air. Because, guess what? Oxygen fuels the brain (duh, you know that… you’re a nurse!). The deep breath really does cleanse us at every level. Try it.
• Focus on the joy. When we are going through a hard time, we can become trapped in allowing it to suffocate our lives. Every moment. Every conversation. Every thought evolves around the ‘problem’. And I’ll refer you back up to bullet point #1- we are the ones making the ‘problem’ stick. Can you shift your focus to find the positive things in life? What can you enjoy today? How can you express gratitude? What will make you feel really, really good? (Even if it is kicking that person in the you-know-what…) Shift from pain to pleasure and enjoy instant stress relief.

OK, it’s your turn. What did I miss? Leave a comment below with another way you stay calm through the stress. I love hearing from you! Thank you for reading and enjoy your health today.

About the Author: As a speaker, workshop facilitator, and Reiki Master, Elizabeth partners with hospitals, organizations, associations, and nursing groups to help transform the field of nursing from the inside out. As the  host of the Your Next Shift Workshop, Elizabeth guides nurses and nursing students to a change in perspective, helping them make the inner shift needed to better maneuver the sometimes challenging realities of being a caregiver.