Expanding your window of tolerance
Your meeting did not go to plan. Everyone and everything annoyed you. But did the meeting lead to your bad mood or your mood lead to a bad meeting? You were tired and irritable long before you stepped into the room. You were outside your ‘window of tolerance.’
Coined by Dr Dan Siegel, your ‘window of tolerance’ refers to the zone of arousal of your optimal state – the zone in which you’re best able to function. To receive and process information, and self-regulate to the demands of everyday life with minimal difficulty. You’re more responsive and less reactive. You think before you act.
My executive coaching clients say these 3 tips help them stay inside their window of tolerance.
1) Selfcare: you can’t pour from an empty cup. Me-time is critical.
2) Stabilize: breathwork and grounding exercises. Both help to calm your limbic brain (emotional brain) and activate your pre-frontal cortex (PFC), so you respond effectively to external demands
3) Check thoughts: awareness of the storiesyou’re telling yourself. Are they true or are you working with assumptions that are triggering you?
Where Corporate meets Wellness is actively expanding your window of tolerance, so you’re better equipped to cope with challenges.
Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash