how to cool down when life throws hot coals

If you’ve ever dealt with government bureaucracy, you know it’s like stepping into a black hole of time and patience.

Today, my patience (and sanity) was tested to the limit.

I’m back in Sofia, Bulgaria, sorting out documents for my residency permit with a lawyer.

I was sure I had all the required documents.

Until I learned I needed to translate and legalise my university degree.

Cue a frantic half-day sprinting around Sofia, getting forms translated and legalised, all before the looming deadline of needing to leave the country again.

Because I have limited days here.

By the time I collapsed into a chair at some random office, I could feel my nerves fraying.

I was ready to fight someone or something.

But what doesn’t help in those moments?

People telling you to ‘Just take a deep breath.’

Here’s what does work for me, every single time:

1. Find a quiet place to sit or lean.

2. Breathe in for 4 seconds.

3. Hold your breath for 7 seconds.

4. Exhale gently for 8 seconds.

5. Repeat at least 3 times.

This simple and cheeky little 4-7-8 breathing trick takes the edge off fast.

I use it whenever my blood starts boiling, or I’m about to do something nerve-wracking.

Within minutes I return to some level of normality.

My mind is clear, I feel calmer and more optimistic.

Breathing techniques are a helpful tool, but it’s only going to help with anxiety at the surface level.

If you want something that goes deeper, helping you manage life’s stresses from a strong foundation, you’ll want to know how to become a ninja at thought management.

Untethered Mind course guides you through exactly how to do this. You’ll be a different person when you come through the other side.

But don't take my advice; see the hundreds of happy students who used the course here.

Until next time,

Alex