We’ve all been there: Your alarm didn’t go off, so you had to rush. You spilled coffee on your shirt because you were rushing. You got to your car to discover it was out of gas, so you had to stop, making you even more late for work. And the day just got worse from there.
Even the most calm and centered beings can experience times of overwhelm and stress. A common reaction to stress is negative thinking. This negative thinking often spirals until there’s a sense of overwhelm, panic, or doom. My clients have been reporting success in managing their stress with a mantra I’ve given them, so I thought I would offer it here so my readers can try it, too.
The mantra is called It’s Okay. The focus of the mantra is acceptance and perspective. Often when we are feeling overwhelmed or anxious, we are throwing our energy into a sense of doom, or that everything is definitely not okay. In reality, the universe is very big, and we are very small and insignificant. Does it really matter if you’re late to work today? Are you going to remember this moment a week from now, a month from now, a year? Probably not. Your shirt is ruined from the coffee spill. Are you lucky enough to have others? The goal of this mantra is to retrain your thoughts to accept the situation and then introduce an alternate, more positive perspective. In saying the mantra, you are giving everything in the universe permission to be exactly as it is. This mantra can be used at anytime, even in a meeting. Just take deep breaths and say the mantra in your mind.
Here’s how it works: When you notice you are feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, you start to break down the thoughts that are contributing to this overwhelm, and then responding to them with, “It’s Okay.” With each “It’s Okay,” take a big breath in and then imagine you are releasing the stress as you breathe out. Here’s what that would look like using the example above:
Inhale, Exhale: “It’s okay that my alarm didn’t go off- I’ll be late today, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be late tomorrow.
Inhale, Exhale: It’s okay that I’m running late, sometimes life requires a different pace.
Inhale, Exhale: It’s okay that I’m feeling rushed, I’m allowed to feel that way sometimes.
Inhale, Exhale: It’s okay that I might get to work late, tomorrow I will do better.
Inhale, Exhale: It’s okay that I spilled my coffee.
It’s okay that I have to change my shirt.
It’s okay that I don’t like this shirt as much as the other one, it is only a shirt, I am lucky to have others.
It’s okay that I’ll be running late, we all run late sometimes.
It’s okay that my boss doesn’t like when I’m late, she is allowed to feel that way.
It’s okay that that I’m angry with myself for failing to get to work on time.
It’s okay that I’m feeling stressed.
It’s okay that the car is low on gas and I have to stop…
You get the idea. Ultimately, most of the stress, anxiety, and overwhelm we experience is a result of very temporary situations. These things are all going to pass. Everything that is happening is okay. You will get through this time, and then you will even forget about it. It’s okay to let it go.
If you would like additional support with anxiety or stress management, or have some other problem you’d like to work on, I encourage you to reach out to a Depth Hypnosis practitioner or book an appointment with me.