How To Make Good Decisions In High-Stress Situations

You are stressed, anxious, and torn between two choices. Do you feel like you have no idea what to do or who is right for you? The answer lies within yourself; simply access your inner wisdom!

Your body, mind, and emotions are all connected to one another. When they’re in balance you will have a greater sense of well-being than when there’s an imbalance between them; which leads us to the question: how do we get our minds back on track so that peace can live within?

For starters, breathe. When we go into stress mode, the first thing we usually do is tense up and start shallow breathing. That starves the brain and body of oxygen and impairs our ability to think clearly. Andrew Weil, MD, founder, professor, and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, suggests deeply inhaling to a slow count of four, holding the breath to the count of seven, then forcefully exhaling to the count of eight. Do this three times and feel the stress melt away.

Now that you’re in more of a relaxed and receptive Alpha state, think of one person, situation, or thing for which you’re truly grateful. Focus on how that object of your sincere gratitude enriches your life and be very specific. As you mentally get in that place, you can literally start to feel your heart expanding. The Mayo Clinic is conducting research on how gratitude not only opens the heart – it also activates positive emotion centers in the brain.

Getting into the habit of quieting the mind with several deep breaths and feeling gratitude will automatically help bring you into body-mind-spirit balance and guide you into that deeper awareness of connecting to your inner wisdom, God Consciousness, or, in scientific terms, the Unified Field. From this place of open-hearted connection, you will get the right answers to your questions – the answers that are in alignment with your values.

You can quickly double-check those answers by monitoring whether those panicky physical sensations go away. Feeling stress leaving your body is an excellent indicator that you’re making the right decision.

It’s scientifically proven that the verbal part of our brain processes around 40 pieces of information per second, but the non-verbal part processes between eight to eleven million bits of information per second.

That means the thoughts we put into words are less reliable than the physical sensations and emotions we feel coming from the non-verbal part of our brain. Even if everyone else is saying, “THIS is what you should do,” if your body is still sending out stress signals, it’s probably not the best decision for you, and it’s not in alignment with your values.

Learn more about bringing healthy balance into your life when you cleanse your body, quiet your mind, and rejuvenate your spirit at OHI. We can help you achieve your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual goals for optimal health. Visit our website at www.optimumhealth.org, and call us at (800) 588-0809 to make your reservation.