Feel Pressured? One Simple Tweak in Outlook Revives You

Basket of Ease

Lee Bryant

Think back over the last three days:  

💥 How many times did something happen to make you worry something in your life wouldn't work out?

💥 How many times did you respond to that fear by relaxing and letting yourself know 'life always has a way of working out in your favor'?

When Life Gets Challenging~Ease Up

There are certainly lots of things to worry about as you navigate life. But when life gets more challenging, that's the very time you need to be more nimble and flexible in your thinking. 

In short, you need to ease up and change how you think about situations you find troubling.

Do You Feel Pressured or Challenged? It Makes a Difference!

How you think about your current predicament will determine if you'll have limited or more expansive choices for responding to life. 

The good news is you can change how you think, and therefore open up options for yourself. 

Keep in mind:

💓 You're in control of choosing your role in difficult situations, and therefore your response. 

💙 You have the power to choose what matters to you.

Pressured? Yikes! Run away!

Think Pressured? Welcome to Your Reptilian Brain

When you sink into feeling pressured, fearful or worried about a situation, you downshift into your lower, or reptilian brain, where only low level flight-or-fight responses are available to you--the extremes of fighting and withdrawing--outbursts, yelling, arguing, quitting, ignoring, denying, running away and pulling the covers over your head and never going back. 

The lower brain isn't a very empowering or engaging place to come from, and it leaves you feeling weak, threatened, out-of-control and unsuccessful.

Challenged? Let me See....

Think Challenged? Welcome to Your Higher Brain

By switching your view from feeling pressured to feeling challenged, you move up to your higher brain, or cerebral cortex, where conscious, critical thinking is possible.  

Switching to your higher brain puts you in control. It is from this place you're capable of considering calm, clear, focused choices, and listening to your inner wisdom.

Chose the Self-Satisfied Calm of Knowing You Can Handle Life

Give up the adrenaline rush of feeling pressured for the self-satisfied calm of knowing you can handle whatever life throws your way.

The next time you feel the angst of your situation, consciously switch to thinking 'I feel challenged' when you first note you're feeling pressured. Then focus your attention on calmly considering your options and determining what matters to you.

No, things don't always go as you planned. But you do have what it takes to successfully move through life's challenges. So switch it up and regain your drive, determination and opportunities! 

Look for the challenge and give up the pressure. Know 'everything is working out' because you have what it takes to switch from navigating life from your reptilian brain to your higher brain.

What's the one simple tweak? Switching your perspective from 'feeling pressured' to 'feeling challenged' to move into your higher brain to open up opportunities and creative solutions.

Sign Up for Free E-mail updates

For more than 35 years, Susan Meyerott has been helping people lighten up and step over invisible barriers to change one step at a time. She speaks to your heart, puts you at ease, and makes letting go and moving forward with life easier than ever before.

Do you know someone who could benefit from uplifting messages? Please share Lightarted Living with them. If you or someone you love is interested in learning more about closing the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, join the FREE Lightarted Living mailing list.