Dakota tribal wisdom says that when you discover you're riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount. Is this what you do? No way, often you don't even know the horse is dead. Instead you try many other strategies to include:
Isn't it interesting that rather than following sage wisdom, our brain loves to stick to a plan, even when it isn't working? Many of us have been taught - working hard brings success - so we work harder and harder to the point of dead or dying. Our brain is programmed to fight to keep things the same and to do what has worked for us in the past. Just like any other muscle in the body, the brain gets strong at doing what it has always done, especially under pressure.
Why especially under pressure? Because being in the line of fire, (under pressure) you resort to your natural tendencies. Our brain is dedicated to accumulating, not releasing - emotional baggage, mental habits, and physical over trying. These tendencies consume a lot of our physical energy to keep the status quo. We may have every intention of this year or this time things will be different, but when in the line of fire, all our good intentions go out the window. So, what's the answer?
Calm is as Calm does...
In order to excel under pressure, we must work to develop a different muscle, the muscle of calmness. You must not only desire calm and to think calm, you must condition your brain and nervous system to be calm and thereby keep calm.
Here are six ways:
It's never easy to change, we feel like we're in a state of flux or chaos oftentimes. Change can often be fearful, but we must remember fear is just the flip side of courage - flip the coin over and make 'forward' the only option. Moving forward beyond the fear, to the vision of what that dream or desire is, remaining calm and focused on your target. "The exceptional life depends not on working harder, but on different, even opposite, actions from habit and the crowd." ~ Ralph Waldo Emmerson