What's Your Bounce Back Rate? Knowing This Can Help You Lead a Happier Life

Woman smiling in a field wearing a chunky sweater playfully wrapping herself in a bright orange scarf.

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By Kat OM. I write about the things we should have learned when we were kids that will help you
become more emotionally resilient and lead a happier life.
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Do you sometimes let things get to you?
I mean who doesn’t? We all do at times. 

It could be something someone said to you. Maybe a friend, partner, relative, or co-worker. And you rehash and stew over what they said for days, perhaps even weeks.

Or maybe you just have a hard time letting go of things. Like when someone at work got credit for something you believed you should have, too? It’s natural to be upset over things from time to time, but when they take over our lives, it becomes a problem when it consumes you. 

You allow these thoughts and emotions to take control over you, rather than you being in control of them. 

What? You were never taught that you can manage these thoughts and emotions? Unless your parents were therapists or mindfulness teachers there’s a good chance you were taught this when you were younger.

You have more power than you realize. And I will share with you today, how to harness that power. 

In my mindfulness teacher training, we were taught to “Let go of what feels heavy and holding us down.” My spiritual teacher training taught us to “Let go of whatever is not serving our highest good.” If it isn’t making you or your life better, let it go. 

Your ego mind, which is the lower part of your mind (versus your higher self, which is your wisdom) is often acting out from a wounded part of you. Your ego will make you think you must hold onto grudges, resentment, and unforgiveness to protect you and feel more empowered, but holding onto grudges, anger, and resentment does the exact opposite from empowering you. It makes you feel defensive, exhausted, and drained. If you want to be happy, you’re not going to be happy holding onto these things. This is why they say, “Let go of what makes you feel heavy and isn’t serving your highest good.”

Another reason to let things go is to feel more joy and inspiration. You can’t feel joy and inspiration when you’re weighed down with what’s pissing you off. 

Ego says, hold onto anger and resentment to make them pay the price. Wisdom says to let go of anger and resentment because the best revenge is your happiness.

Once you let go of the heaviness, you immediately feel its weight lifting off you. You realize how good it feels to be free of it. Then you wonder why you held on to it for so long?

We’re always waiting for peace and happiness to come to us, not knowing we have the power to create it within ourselves.

Make letting go become part of your daily practice for a happier life. Letting go of what isn’t serving your highest good. Sometimes it can be your own thoughts that are weighing you down. Thoughts telling you that you aren’t good enough. Let it go.

When heavy thoughts arise, you can feel them taking you out of alignment. Alignment (or back to center) is your rational, calm state of mind. The goal is to work your way back into alignment. Your calm, loving, peaceful state of mind, and be free.

“Anything Costing Your Peace is Too Expensive” — Unknown

So, Where Does Your Bounce Back Rate Come In?
Your Bounce Back Rate is how fast you can get back into alignment? After you got knocked out of it. I learned this handy tip from one of my spiritual teachers and mentors, New York Times Bestselling author Gabby Bernstein.

Letting go and coming back into alignment isn’t always easy, but it feels so good when it releases its hold on you, and you get back to center.

Use these 7 techniques to help you get back into alignment.

Repeat as often as necessary.

7 Ways to Let Go, Bounce Back and Get into Your Groove:

1. Accept and Surrender
Accept what you’re feeling as valid but be willing to surrent and let it go. Surrender is offering it up to God, the Universe, your highter self, whatever feels right to you. Surrendering it in prayer and asking that it be taken from you and transformed. Sometimes it is released from you. Sometimes it comes back to you with a better, clearer understanding.

2. Write it Out
Write it out. Get whatever you’re feeling out of you and onto the paper. You have to feel your feelings first, all the anger and rage before you can let go. Doing the opposite and not feeling what you’re feeling is known as “stuffing your emotions” or “spiritual bypassing.” Your feelings don’t go away just because you don’t want to feel them. They stay stored in you causing you to drink, eat, shop, or work too much to avoid what you’re feeling. This is known as “numbing.” So feel what you’re feeling and get it out. A lot of people get a lot of satisfaction from burning or tearing up what they have written and offering it up to the Universe to be released. Similar to surrender. 

3. Meditation
Meditation is one of my favorite ways to get back to center.

If you are new to meditation or an experienced meditator, this is a meditation from one of my favorite meditation teachers, psychiatrist, and mindfulness teacher, Tara Brach. 

Let it Go Meditation, Tara Brach

4. Yoga
Physical movements of yoga are good at releasing stagnant energy from your body and relaxing it. You can try this let-it-flow yoga sequence with YouTube sensation Yoga with Adriene.

Let it Go Yoga Flow with Adriene

5. Go for a Walk or Run
Exercise helps not only to release negative energy but also helps to build endorphins, our positive body chemicals. Going for a walk or run also helps to release stuck energy. You can go for a mindful walk connecting with nature or go for a run.

6. Tapping
Tapping on meridian points can also help release stuck energy and restore the body’s energy flow. If you haven’t tried tapping before check out Tapping with Brad Yates on YouTube.

Reliving Past Upsetting Events with Brad Yates

7. Kundalini Yoga
Now, we’re pulling in the big guns. Ego eradicator is a heavy-duty super energizing kundalini meditation that helps to release the ego’s hold on you.
Do not do this mediation if you are pregnant or have your period. 

Ego Eradicator with Gabby Bernstein

Put these tools into practice as often as you need them and you will
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Kat OM is a resilience mindset coach based in New York City. Her signature program, Mindful Resilience, provides 21 tools and lessons to help keep you emotionally resilient through life. She is also the author of Resilient Love: Turn Your Wounds into Your Wings. You can also find Kat OM at: KatOMLife.com | IG: kat.om.transform.your.life | FB: katOM30