Session 3: Reignition Strategy #1

Phase 1 of Your Personally Tailored—BreakThrough SolutionTM

Feeling unsafe and uncertain are barriers to your effectiveness because they stop you in your tracks and demotivate you from taking action.

The first phase in creating your BreakThrough SolutionTM is therefore to refocus on what motivates you and reignite your inner drive.

A magnifying lens focusses the power of sunlight, and with it you hold in your hand the power to burn down a forest. Imagine what you could do if you focussed all your powers of intent and passion onto the object of your desire?

Imagine what you could achieve if you focussed all your effort and willpower on creating the life you really want?

Unfortunately, for many, 3 main things get in the way—stress, anxiety, and fear. Like dark clouds blocking the sun, stress, anxiety and fear block our focus and attention. Together, they diminish our motivation and dampen our desire to take necessary action.

As such, uncertainty, self-doubt, and insecurity are three of the most common causes of inaction and ineffectiveness.

If you identify with any of the BreakThrough Persona types (Habitual Hesitator, Day Dreamer, Impulsive Investor, Sensitive Soul), you will resonate with how stress, anxiety, and fear can derail your plans and limit your ability to effect positive change in your life.

So the first thing you need to do is control your baser instincts, and this you can do with Reignition Strategy #1: Sensible Safety.


Reignition Strategy #1: Sensible Safety

Your reptilian hindbrain is wired for only one thing: to keep you alive.

Which is why safety and survival is paramount for your reptilian brain. Any uncertainty and insecurity is a threat, which triggers the ‘fight and flight’ response.

But what does your reptilian hindbrain want most of all? SAFETY.

It wants safety at all costs and in all areas of life: health, wealth, career, relationships, education, and recreation.

Most opportunities for “sensible safety” are external situations in which you may feel insecure or unsafe but which you can instigate safe or precautionary behaviours and actions.

Here are some examples:

  • I’m afraid of the water, so I don’t swim.
  • I’m worried I won’t have enough money for retirement.
  • I’m concerned my eating and drinking habits are too unhealthy.
  • I’m not progressing in my career because I don’t have the right education or training to get promoted.

When we say, think, feel, and believe these kinds of statements our reptilian hindbrain fires up and threatens to take control.

However, you have the power to do something about it each time you catch yourself saying, thinking, or feeling these thoughts by implementing “sensible safety” to calm your instinctive ‘fight and flight’ reactions.

Here’s how you can do this:

  • I’m afraid of the water, so I don’t swim—If the fear of water or drowning is impacting your life, career, or relationships, most swim schools have trainers and classes specifically designed to help you get through your fears. Enrolling in a swimming course is a great “sensible safety” strategy that will help you to calm your instinctive reactions and take control of your fears. Knowing how to swim might not only save your life in future, but allow you to help save others who might get into difficulty in the water.
  • I’m worried I won’t have enough money for retirement—If poverty in retirement is continually playing on your mind, an excellent “sensible safety” strategy is to book an appointment with a reputable financial adviser to help establish a financial plan for your future. Following a financial plan will engage your higher reasoning centres and quell the emotional and instinctive reactions that arise with the fear of ‘not having enough’.
  • I’m concerned my eating and drinking habits are too unhealthy—If you feel your diet is too rich in sugar, fats, and salt, or your caffeine or alcohol intake is above the standard healthy limits, a practical “sensible safety” strategy is to engage the services of a nutritionist to devise an appropriate dietary plan to help you establish healthy eating habits. Following a nutritional diet will not only engage your higher reasoning centres and quell the fears of food-related illnesses (e.g. diabetes, heart attack), but also increase your energy levels and alertness. (*Note: if you feel your eating or drinking habits are an addiction, seek medical advice with your GP or local health centre).
  • I’m not progressing in my career because I don’t have the right education or training to get promoted—If other colleagues are getting promoted ahead of you and you feel stuck in the same role with little or no promotional opportunities, a valid “sensible safety” strategy is to be pro-active and engage in higher learning and training so that you can upskill, add greater value to your employer and become an irresistible candidate for promotion. The act of learning something that will aid a bigger purpose for you will super-charge your higher reasoning centres and quell the reactive emotions and instincts associated with lack of progress in your career.

These are just some examples of many on how you can implement “sensible safety” in moments when you feel yourself under threat, either physically, emotionally, or psychologically.

Next is a real-life example of how this strategy can help with a crisis situation.


Reignition Strategy #1 In Action

Let’s use the recent COVID-19 pandemic as an example of how to implement Reignition Strategy #1: Sensible Safety.

In this period of high uncertainty, where our health is under attack and our wealth is being threatened, our hindbrain’s instinctive reaction is to seek safety at all costs.

In this scenario, you can use “Sensible Safety” to focus on taking simple precautions that reduce your risks of being infected:

  • Practice social distancing.
  • Refrain from large crowds.
  • Minimise your travel.
  • Keep yourself healthy and exercise.
  • Keep surfaces around the home clean and shower regularly (*the coronavirus has been shown to live on external surfaces, clothes, and hair for more than a day).
  • Keep hydrated.
  • And other precautionary measures.

This is simply being sensible and will help reduce reactive instincts and behaviours while at the same time elevating higher-centred responsible thoughts and actions to remain calm and in control.

Reignition Strategy #1: Task
What “sensible safety” strategies can you implement today to reduce your reactive instincts and behaviours?

 

POINTS TO CONSIDER:
What do you need to do to achieve this?
How will you do this?
Who will help you?
When and Where will you do this?
Why is this necessary?

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