I threw the iching this morning; I asked it to tell me something good. It had been a rough night and the dawn was beginning to show itself as a tough morning. My iching has a great sense of humor – always spot on and poignant. When I threw the iching I got “Shock.” Shock is translated as, “Jump to action and don’t make mistakes or very bad things will happen.” This was clear to me the iching being sarcastic, ironic and humorous. Because I often worry and stress about making mistakes and not doing enough. Which I fear will be followed by very bad things happening. Which will be all my fault!
This got me thinking about our “Hot Spot” buttons, and what happens when they get pushed. We typically jump into action, self-preservation mode (which sometimes takes the form of other- preservation mode.) We are leaping into action, but it isn’t the constructive kind of action because it isn’t genuine, it’s reactive. It comes from a fight or flight response, it’s made this situation stop in order to survive mode. And it causes trouble.
Instead, we need to once again, Stop, look and listen. Take a moment and take a breath. Do not react! Instead, gather your hypothetical troops and wait it out. You don’t need to fix anything You don’t need to do anything in this moment. Refuse to participate in this whirl storm. Stand down.
Once the emotional storm has passed, Assess. Notice how you felt while you were in the eye of the tornado. Really let yourself bathe in the feeling, instead of trying to fight it or push it away, and then let it pass. Next, ask yourself some questions – Was the experience familiar? Does that feeling bring back any memories? Notice, learn and let it go. Now, look around from a place of calm, and if there truly is a problem to solve, put on your problem solving hat and solve it.