One more quick tip to help you keep emotionally well, today it is N.A.P. It’s not this kind of nap you are thinking of, although that’s also good, it’s about recognizing your emotions.
When turbulent times hit, our emotions are turbulent too and when we have so many different emotions, it’s really hard (impossible?) to deal with all those emotions at once.
N.A.P. is a simple 3 step process to help you navigate those emotions.
N stands for Notice.
Step One – Notice just one emotion that is coming in, which one is most prevalent at this moment or which one do you notice most. Single out that one emotion just notice it. Ahhh, that’s it.
A stands Acknowledge
Step Two – Acknowledge your body for giving you this information – that’s what feelings are – they are information. I might say or think, ‘Thank you body for letting me know this information so that I can deal with this. I understand that feeling ______ is normal and it’s ok to feel like that sometimes. I understand that I be with this feeling for awhile but don’t have to stay with this feeling if it’s not serving me well.’
P stands for Plan
Step Three – Now that we have that one emotion singled out, we can ask ourselves some positive, proactive questions for example:
‘What do I need to learn from this emotion?’
‘What can I do to shift that emotion to something more positive and productive?’
‘What causes me to get into this state?’
So for myself:
Step One – Notice – I noticed I was feeling disappointed. Now I must ask myself why? I realize it’s not because my speaking engagements have disappeared, it’s not because I can’t be with my friends, it’s not because I have no income coming in, it’s because I see and hear about people acting in ways that aren’t positive and helpful and kind – I am disappointed in humanity when I see and hear these things..
Step Two – Acknowledge – Disappointment is a normal, natural, fair feeling to feel. I can feel it for a bit, but I don’t want to stay in that feeling, because I can’t be my best when I am there.
Step Three – Plan – What can I do to shift out of this feeling? Here’s my plan to deal with my emotion of disappointment.
- Limit my news intake to a maximum of one 10 hit per day.
- Remove people who are making negative posts from my feed (possibly unfollow, but stay friends).
- Seek out positive news daily.
- Do one positive act of kindness daily
Once you break it down, just dealing with one emotion at a time, it’s seems much less overwhelming and much more manageable.
I’m here for you, if you need me
