Feeling calm is a performance tool. From waking up in the right mindset, focusing at work, having the optimal stride during a run and most importantly, dealing with people. Just kidding, the most important part of the day is sleep and running on a calm frequency helps. But being calm throughout the entire day is tough, even for me. When I decided that I wanted to operate at a calm frequency as much as possible, I wanted it now. I wanted to be calm all day. Unfortunately, you can't just decide to be calm when you're used to reacting certain ways to your external environment. Trust me, I know. The external factors are never going to change and you have no control over them, but you can learn how to handle those situations in a more calm way internally.
Doing so won't happen overnight. It's something you need to work up to like any skill. To start, you also can't expect to be calm all day. If you do, you're just setting yourself up for failure. Instead, commit to feeling more calm for 5 minutes today and being aware of it. I'll tell you exactly how to do that at the end of the post.
Once you accomplish 5 minutes of calm today you win. It's a small victory to celebrate and a foundation to build on. Even if you spiral back into chaos, we'll build on that 5 minutes of calm tomorrow. Maybe you double it to 10 minutes and work your way up to an hour over the course of a month.
How to be calm for 5 minutes today
- Put on headphones and turn on forest sounds with birds. Studies show this is one of the most relaxing audios we can listen to.
- Close your eyes or look at a photo of a forest. I personally have my laptop wallpaper as the forest so I can easily have access to a photo when I'm practicing a quick calm session. It's also my phone background for the same reason.
- Practice the 4-4-4-4 breathing method. Breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, exhale for 4 and hold for 4.
- Using a scent throughout the routine increases the effectiveness and will help you feel more calm. That's exactly why we designed Pause, a functional scent made with calming hinoki wood oil and mood-boosting yuzu. You can smell it directly from the bottle while breathing or dab a very small amount into the palms of your hands. Not only will the scent instantly calm you down, but the more you use it during your calm routine, the stronger your brain will associate that scent with calm.
As someone who has lived a life of extremes and constantly pushing to be happier, stronger, more successful, more intentional and just "better" overall, I learned that the only way to sustainably achieve that is to operate in a calm mindset. So, if you're looking to make some sort of change in your own life, start with 5 minutes of calm today and build up to a calm hour. You'll most likely realize how much easier it is to achieve other goals when you're operating in a calm mindset.
