Stress Response

A young college athlete stands at the free throw line and throws the basketball at the basket over and over again. She is visualizing her success and at the same time she is conditioning her body to automatically respond to the stimulus of her desire to successfully put the ball through the hoop. Through repetition, her mind will associate the desire to make a basket and her body will translate this desire into the action she has so diligently practiced.

Simply stated: The repetition allows her body to automatically respond to her desire.

So what, you ask? How does it affect me? Why should I care about this? Well, perhaps as many of us have, you have conditioned your body to respond to a situation—or a certain set of circumstances—or a particular person in your life—in a negative or stressful way. All because we keep repeating the same pattern over and over again.

For example, according to many studies, the second most pending fear behind death is speaking in public. For many people, just the thought of speaking before a group of people makes them so nervous that they break into a sweat, their breath gets faster and they begin to twitch. Just the thought has produced a physical response from their body. Because it’s been practiced and repeated. Just like the college athlete shooting free throws, the mind is conditioned to react to the stimulus by creating a physical response.

So again you ask … why is that good news? Because it means you are successful at using this technique. Now, let’s use that power for producing positive results!! Next time you begin to have a negative response to something, pay attention to it. Notice it. Stop the thought and reframe it in a positive way. If there is something that is uncomfortable for you and elicits a physical response (like speaking in public, your boss’s voice, or getting cut off in traffic) plan ahead of time and have language that will allow you to redirect your thoughts in a positive way. For a good friend of mine, her mantra is something her Dad always said: “Only an eagle flies in a thunderstorm”. When she thinks that thought, it redirects her thoughts to tell her she is strong and in control and stops the negative physical reaction in its tracks. Create your own mantra and use it next time you notice you are having a negative reaction to something. Try it. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.