Share ThisHow to Think Clearly When Stress Takes Over
Have you ever noticed that the more stressed you get, the worse your thinking becomes?
There’s a reason for that. And it’s something you can reverse. This video will show you how.
To go deeper on how to stop reacting and lead steadily through constant change, come to my free live session on Thursday, November 12 at 3pm EST. Save your seat here.
Think about one of those days. I’ve had them too: it’s one thing after another. Meetings where people rehash the same thing again and again. A situation, or even a person, that just frustrates you. And when you get caught in that stress cycle, it becomes a vicious loop.
What stress does to your heart and your thinking
The HeartMath Institute has done research suggesting that if you could look at your heart rhythm pattern in a state like this, it would look jagged, irregular and chaotic. They call this a state of incoherence, which essentially means your heart is out of sync with your body’s other systems. And it has a physiological signature you probably recognize from the inside.
Your thinking becomes scattered, cloudy, foggy. Your emotional composure takes a dip. Your energy begins to deflate. It’s really hard to solve problems in this state, because the more agitated you are, the more agitated you seem to become.
Why you stay stuck
There’s a reason you get locked into this cycle, and it isn’t only about your heart. Your brain can take in far more data than it can process, so it relies on selective attention to decide which data deserves your focus. And guess what it takes in at the exclusion of everything else? Data that matches what you’re already believing, focused on, or looking for.
So if you’re already agitated, you’re already noticing the things that are upsetting you. Your brain gives you more of that to match the pattern, and it screens out anything that could take you out of that state, unless you make a conscious decision to interrupt it.
How to reverse it
That’s the good news: this state can be reversed. All you need to do is interrupt the pattern in your thinking. And the best way I’ve found to do that is to find something to love, or at the very least, something to appreciate.
One important note before you try it. This is for everyday frustrations: the stuff that triggers you and spins you up. If what you’re carrying is a heavier emotion, the kind you wake up with and that stays with you all day, it may need more than a quick reset. You might need to sit with it, feel it, and process it before it can release. (I’ve written about that deeper work in The Sign You’re on the Verge of Something.
For the everyday kind, here’s how it works. Say you’re in a meeting that’s running long, and you notice yourself getting frustrated, impatient, and agitated.
1. Notice the state you’re in. Notice that it’s different from what you’d rather be experiencing.
2. Make the conscious decision to shift. This is the step that matters most.
3. Find something to appreciate. Look around the room at people’s faces and find something you admire in someone’s effort, even just one person. Or look out the window and enjoy the view.
Let’s try it right now. Notice your emotional state. Is it generally positive? Somewhat negative? Are you agitated, stressed, anxious? Now think about what you’d rather be experiencing, and make the conscious decision to find something in this moment to feel grateful for. Maybe it’s something in your life that’s going well. Maybe it’s something that happened earlier today that makes you smile. Maybe it’s a person who always makes you feel lighter and brighter.
Whatever it is, step into that experience. Not as someone watching a movie, but as though you’re in the presence of someone you really enjoy. Feel the gratitude, breathe it in, and let it move into you and through you.
What changes when you do
According to HeartMath’s research, when you’re experiencing positive emotions like love, gratitude, kindness, and appreciation, your heart rhythm pattern is more likely to look like smooth waves. They call this coherence: an indication that your heart is in sync with your body’s systems. Their research associates this state with clearer thinking, better decisions, greater resilience, and more creativity.
HeartMath also reports that the heart’s electromagnetic field is remarkably strong (they say roughly 100 times stronger than the brain’s) and can be measured several feet away. They use the term social coherence to describe how the people around us may begin to sync with our state.
If that’s right, the people near you are more likely to think clearly, get creative, and see the best in others when you’re in a coherent state. And I believe the ripple effect goes much further than several feet. Those people leave your presence and go find something to appreciate in the people around them. They make better decisions. They rise above their own problems and challenges, in part because of the time they spent near you.
The next time you’re out of sorts
So the next time you’re feeling frustrated, agitated, or impatient, you have a tool. Catch yourself in the moment. Make the conscious decision to experience a better, more productive, more constructive state. And find something to love, appreciate, or be grateful for.
Shift your thinking, shift your ability to perform, and have a positive impact on everyone around you.
Interrupting stress in the moment is a skill, and it’s one of the most useful ones a leader can have. Underneath it sits something bigger: learning to lead steadily when change keeps coming at you from every direction.
That’s what we’ll work on together in a free live session, Lead Steadily Through Constant Change, on Thursday, November 12, from noon to 1:30 pm Arizona time (2:00 pm Eastern). Bring a real challenge you’re facing right now. We’ll work on it live, and at the end I’ll share an invitation to go deeper over a year, which will be right for some of you and not for others.
