Page 51 - Mindfulness Meets Emotional Awareness Sample Book

P. 51

• Notice. In the first instance, the key to this is to develop
your awareness of your feelings so that you notice their
arrival before they build up in intensity.

This is a skill that we develop over time. The more that we
understand ourselves emotionally, the more readily we
recognize when any challenging emotions are surfacing, as
well as the valuable information that they bring us. When we
feel powerful emotions, then whether it is joyous or
challenging, something is going on!

• Pause. In any situation where you feel angry, learn to
press a pause button. I cannot stress this enough: learn
to press a pause button.

Now I know that this is easier said than done!

An excellent tool to help with this is to develop a ‘stock
answer’. By this, I mean a rehearsed sentence or phrase that
you carry at the tip of your tongue that will help you to pause
and put the brakes on in relation to any kind of automatic, re-
active responses.

It is important that you find a language that is right for you
otherwise it simply won’t feel congruent and ‘right’ with you.

Let me give you some examples.

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