The first step to retaining poise under pressure

The first step to retaining poise under pressureThe first step to retaining poise under pressureDo you have a strategy for retaining your poise under pressure?If not, heres what likely happens when youre in a high-stress situation That event becomes the trigger for a reaction commonly known as the flight or fight response.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreAs your body gets flooded with the stress hormone, cortisol, your heart rate increases, your breathing gets rapid and shallow, and your muscles tense. In addition, your amygdala (the emotional region of your brain) begins to override your pre-frontal cortex (the rational decision-making part of your brain). In other words, you literally lose your ability to think straight.Learning to unlink a trigger event from this self-defeating reaction is the first step in retaining your poise under pressure. Heres how to do thatAt the moment youre aware that you are in a stressful situation, pause and mentally say the word stop. Instead of automatically reacting to the trigger event, pausing gives you the time needed to take back control.During the pause, do one or more of the followingBreathe deeply. Take a slow deep belly breath and then exhale fully. Count slowly to five as you inhale, hold for a count of one, and then exhale to another slow count of five.Give yourself a quick pep talk. Use phrases like Ive got this, Im fine, or I can handle it.Relabel your emotions. Your brain uses words to interpret events. So the words that you attach to emotions have power. If you use intense words (Im anxious, Im frightened) to describe how you feel in challenging situations, you intensify the stress reaction. Relabeling your emotions with more positive words (Im excited, Im alert) helps you to keep calmer in a pinch. This is easier to do than you might think, as the same physical reactions - rapid heart rate, muscular tension , and so forth occur - in fear and excitement so your brain is already primed to make the switch.Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., is an international keynote speaker and leadership presence coach. Shes the author of The Silent Language of Leaders and creator of LinkedInLearnings video series Body Language for Leaders. For more information, visitCarolKinseyGoman.com.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people