Imagine you’re a taking a late afternoon walk through your favorite woods.  The distant chatter of birds and the tranquility of the late slanting sunlight is suddenly disrupted by the appearance of a large black bear.  Upon seeing you, the bear raises to his back feet, lets out a roar, and starts eyeing you like a prime rib.  What do you do?

When faced with such fear, there are likely four responses.  First you run as fast as you can.  Second, you freeze, third you faint, or four you try to fight (really?).  What you probably won’t do in those first precious moments is to try to figure out when you will write your next blog post or how to resolve that issue with a friend/relative.  That’s because when we are deeply stressed, all the blood from our brain drains away. While we might “think” we are thinking, all our energy and brain power is focused on survival.  And even though you likely won’t be faced with a bear in the woods anytime soon, anything that triggers fear, anxiety, outrage or loss is reducing our ability to think clearly and react wholeheartedly.  An antidote?  Refuse to take most things so seriously. [Read more…]