Every year as the month of May approaches, mothers around the country are rewarded for their day to day efforts with special gifts of acknowledgement. Many gifts include bountiful bouquets of spring flowers that brighten up the day, pampering services that yield relaxing results, and soothing lotions and potions to promote tranquility. As an end result to all of these generous gifts, a mother is believed to feel rewarded, relaxed, and calm.
As mothers, we greatly appreciate the generosity of our families on this special holiday; however mothers could use those kind gifts many days of the week. Why rely on others to provide you with those feelings of peace and tranquility, when you can train your own brain to calm? The following are four steps to take to promote calmness and rationality during everyday tasks involved in motherhood.
The first step to promote calm is to set goals. Setting goals helps keep the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for rational thought, focused on the task at hand. The focus on goals helps to create structure out of chaos and keeps the emotional brain in check. It is important to develop small attainable goals that build your personal success throughout the day. For example, “I’m going to make it through breakfast.” After breakfast the next goal is, “I’m going to make it through school drop off.”
The second step is to use visualization. Think about the activities that make up your day by visualizing them the way you would ideally like them to play out. The brain doesn’t know the difference between visualization and actual “real time.” Picturing stressful situations provides you with an opportunity to give the activity a successful trial run. Later on, when you go through the situation for real, the strategies come more naturally.
Using positive self-talk is the third step. The average person talks to them self 300-1,000 words per minute. If these words are positive instead of negative, they help override the strong emotional thoughts. The frontal lobe, that houses rational thinking, is always “on.” If we replace bad thoughts with good thoughts, we can flood the brain with positivity.
Finally, using deep breathing paired with the previous strategies assists to promote calmness. Deliberate slow breathing helps combat some of the effects of frustration and anger. Long exhales in particular help mimic the body’s relaxation process and get more oxygen to the brain for clearer thinking and better performance.
As wonderful as motherhood is, the reality is that the days can be filled with tension and stress. Don’t wait for that thoughtful gift from others to provide you with the tranquility, peacefulness, and calmness that you deserve. Today and every day, give a gift to yourself…train your brain!
What do you do to help promote your own calm and rationale during your days? Let us know in the comments below.