Good Morning,
Woke this morning to snow. Never know what to expect these days. Being effective means doing what works whether that course of action was in your plans or not. Folks who once made designer bathing suits are now making masks.
What does effectiveness look like in your life right now? It might mean curbing what you want to do in order to keep distance? It might mean going to program when you do not feel like it, or going to work when you have worries at home or are nervous about getting ill.
How does one get more effective? It’s often just sitting and breathing for a bit. In DBT, effectiveness comes when we get ourselves to wise mind… the place where we are connected to feelings and to logic and facts. We know what we feel like doing and the consequences of acting that way. Wise mind is always available, but when we ignore feelings, they find their way out. When we ignore the wisdom that comes with logic and thinking ahead, again, we are often ineffective.
So, today’s practice is to sit and breathe, noticing the moment the in breath turns to an out breath. Connecting to the highest point of the breath. For today’s practice, you don’t need to ignore thoughts. As long as you are connected to breath, see your thoughts as they come and go. Ask yourself, what does effectiveness look like for me today?If you get distracted, direct your attention back to breath. Do this practice for at least 10 minutes. If you need to get back to wise mind later in your day, just take two breaths, attending to the crest of the breath, and you can get connected again. This can help you to be more effective today.
Peace!
