A fairly recent discovery is an additional response called fawning – placating or appeasing to neutralize the threat. While we each tend toward a dominant approach, we can draw on any of these responses as the situation demands.

When our ancestors faced the danger of a lion, they had time to recover to reorient their nervous system. Today, we haven’t learned the importance of recovery, so we plow ahead. The result is that we are forever on edge, feeling stressed and stretched. It’s no wonder stress-related physical and psychological ailments abound.

Here are some quick ways to recover. You know all of them. None of them are difficult or time-consuming. When stressed:

1. Sit back in your chair, stare at something above you, and slowly breath in and out, 5 times.
2. Get out of your chair and SLOWLY walk to another part of the building, counting your steps.
3. Think of a relationship that is meaningful to you and recall how thankful you are for that person in your life.

For additional thoughts on managing your perceived lions, read a Monday Message we wrote a few years ago, An Intentional Cooldown Routine. And remember that everything isn’t a lion, regardless of what you think or feel.