Taking the Edge Off

Notice moments when you feel stressed, upset, annoyed, disappointed, frustrated, or bothered in some way during the course of your day. When you notice one of these feelings, stop what you’re doing for 60 seconds and engage in the 3-step sequence described below. Practice with every frustration or upset feeling that you experience on a daily basis — no matter how small, and no matter what triggered your upset feeling. Most of the work involves simply remembering to interrupt whatever you’re doing for a few moments and do the exercise. Here are the steps:

1 – Take a short break from whatever you are doing and temporarily let go of the urge to say or do anything immediately (unless it is a situation that clearly requires you to do so). Wait at least 60 seconds while you do steps 2 and 3.

2 – Relax your body and engage in resistance breathing as you do steps 2 and 3.

3 – Say to yourself something that will help you take a step back, put things in perspective, and feel less frustrated.