How to keep it together when the going gets tough!

15th June was Power of the Smile Day – a whole 24 hours dedicated to the involuntary contraction of the zygomatic major muscle! Smiling is actually an incredibly powerful way of hacking your brain when things get tough.

There have been a number of those moments for me recently. Moments where I feel physically sick at what’s just happened, moments where I feel like I have failed not just myself but my team and my family. Given Resilience is a key topic we teach, it was time to practice what I preach!

It’s not the tough times of course, it’s how we bounce back that defines us. But HOW do we do that?! One of the first steps is to consider what is actually within my control.

Fast forwarding to where you are in your life in 10 years is another great tool – have you ever said for example, “one day we’ll look back at this and laugh”? It helps me to say…

If I am going to look back and laugh at this someday, why not stop right now and laugh at it today?

Top tip to help when you feel anxious or stressed: Pause and think back over the last 24 hours. What is one thing that made you smile?  Really remember it…What was the weather like? Who were you with? Really feel the emotion! You will get a nice hit of endorphins as that smile creeps across your face, this in turn lowers your levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

See more here on the > hidden power of the smile.

My challenge for you this week is: Smile at 10 people on your way to work tomorrow. It’s a small but powerful tool to keep you topped up with those feel good chemicals, not just reserved for when you’re stressed.

Coaching question: Find a quiet time in the next week to write down; A situation that might stress me out or trip me up today could be… And the way that my best self would deal with that is…

For me, it’s to read some of the powerful words of thanks people send me so I can remember what my purpose is even when I am doubting myself and feeling stressed.

Please get in touch and let me know – Did you smile today? And did they smile back?!

More videos and insights can be found here.

With gratitude,

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