Do you ever think it’s time to slow down? Do you ever feel that life is too busy? If you’re feeling tired or depleted, using the STOP principle can really help. And it’s so easy because all you have to remember is the word STOP! Then you can quietly and calmly come to a halt and focus on what each letter means….
S So, the ‘S’ simply tells us that when we’re feeling tired, sad, worried or depleted, we can say to ourselves STOP, slow down, sit down and surrender to calmness. The ‘S’ can also remind us to gently put a half smile on our lips.
T The ‘T’ tells us to slowly and gently take a breath, take another breath, and another. Notice our breathing. Try and breathe deep down into our tummies. Relax the shoulders and the jaw. Take some more breaths.
O ‘O’ tells us to quietly, kindly and compassionately observe what’s going on for us right now. We can observe our thoughts and our feelings and see if they are running away with worst case scenarios. We can then allow ourselves to observe the actual facts of the situation which may be a lot less catastrophic and far more manageable.
P ‘P’ then tells us to proceed kindly, mindfully and with self-compassion. If we are feeling low, our compassionate self may tell us to go and get some exercise. Or, our kind self may tell us that although things might be difficult right now, we got through this before, and we can do it again.
Photo by chuks sama on Unsplash
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