Tip #5: STOP Technique

The ability to pause is an important life skill: being able to detach yourself from the busy routines and constant noise of your mind. This offers more space and clarity for decisions that are constructive and creative. The opposite is constant action, which often leads to destruction and frustration.

The practice of stopping is simple, anyone can do it. You just have to actually do it. Set a reminder on your phone for every two hours and when it rings, do the following:

Practice STOP

S - Stop! Stop doing anything, stop pushing anything, stop correcting anything, stop trying to educate anything, stop explaining anything. In short, stop what you are doing.

T - Take three deep breaths and exhale.

O - Open your attention. Notice the colors, smells, and sounds around you. The ground beneath your feet, what your hands touch.

P - Take One Caring Step. Now that you've realized how your body feels, take one caring step for yourself - get a drink, pee, stretch, open a window, and breathe... Whatever your body is asking for.

You can practice at any time during the day. For example, every two hours (set a reminder on your phone), after finishing one activity before starting another, during breaks between classes, whenever you feel unfocused, distracted, restless, trying to solve a problem and not succeeding...

This is a guide to quickly detaching from a problem. By looking away from the problem that is making us feel unwell and focusing on ourselves, we can regain our lost peace. We can then resolve the situation more easily, faster, and with greater perspective.

A good time for this exercise is when you are suffocating with negative emotions, you have a conflict with colleagues, a child, a partner, or you feel that there is simply too much going on. Especially on busy days, practice the STOP technique even more honestly. You will then be able to handle challenging days with greater peace of mind. Try it. It's worth it.