JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas. –
One thing I learned and emphasized to others throughout my military career is to keep in check your four pillars (dimensions of wellness) in check: spiritual, social, mental and physical.
Just the other day, I was heading to work early to do my normal running route before the chaos of the day started. As I took off on my two-mile run, I started thinking about all the things going on in my life. Running helps me clear my head, which helps me make well thought out decisions throughout the day.
I knew, as I hit the mile mark, that I needed to focus on my breathing. I started doing my two-to-four second count, breathing in and out, to help me finish my run and not pass out or give up. Anyone that does any sort of physical activity will tell you that breathing is the key to being able to finish strong.
As I started counting in my head (because if I counted out loud that would just be weird), it dawned on me, “If we take the time to focus on breathing while we are running or working out, why don’t we take the time to do that during the rest of our day?”
Imagine how clear we would think if our body was getting more oxygen. How many times could we have avoided saying something we should not have, or in this day and age, posting something on social media that gets us in trouble? When we are stressed and we slow down to take a big breath, we usually start to feel better.
Whenever my kids are crying or upset, the first thing I tell them to do is, “Take a deep breath in, and slowly let it out.” We repeat this at least three times. Every time I do this with them, they stop crying and are no longer upset. They even start to feel a little better.
Take a minute to think about the stressors in your life. At times, leadership and/or subordinates can be the source of your stress. This can be a little frustrating at times.
How do you handle your stress?
When life gets too hard to handle, you do not know what to do and you are frustrated beyond belief, why not try to just breathe? Take a deep breath and count to five or ten as you exhale. Try to calm yourself and, if you feel like it, take care of your physical dimension of wellness (go work out)!
If we all take a minute or two to calm ourselves down, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised at how well it works! Maybe we will not make that vocal comment we wish we could take back later or maybe we will not post that video that cannot be unseen.
The things we do in our lives affect everyone around us. The impact can be good or bad depending on your actions. Why not try to remain calm through the stressors in life? Maybe then we can pass this skill on to our subordinates and even our leadership. We can make more of a positive impact throughout our lives as opposed to a negative one. Why not give everyone a good habit that helps with stress and decision making?
Take a deep breath and tell me what you think.