Angie Cretes #3 Resource State
Hey friends!
Can you tell which city the “stamp” of this week belongs to? It’s San Antonio! I went there for a solo trip two months ago. Yes, it’s a very cliche tourist spot. But no matter where I went, “solo” trips always have some magic on me. This time, an excursion bike ride along the San Antonio riverside became the anchor of my “resource state”.
What is a “Resource State”?
A “Resource state” is an NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) technique I learned from my NLP trainer Katie Raver. NLP claims that the most effective way to rebuild our behavior pattern is not through reasoning, but by using emotions or feelings built up in the 5 senses to rewire the emotional pattern we built up in our lizard brain.
For example, no matter how much I told myself I’m a capable, experienced professional, my body won’t listen to me because my emotional reaction is activated by my lizard brain, not my rational brain. The way to overcome my fight or flight response is to rewire my emotional pattern by conjuring up another emotional state and embedded in that state.
A resource state is an inner mental state where you feel connected to something larger than yourself. Being in the resource state gives you the resources you need for different given contexts. If you are dealing with a stressful relationship issue, your resource state might be where you find love and support to deal with that situation. If you feel uncertain and scared, your resource state might be where you feel trusting and courageous.
Your resource states can be connected to a memory, or a combination of useful resources you in the situation you need. To get into our resource state, we use our five senses to trick our brain into reasoning and bring us back to the emotional states that we want to be in.
My Resource State as An Example
When dealing with an unknown job search situation I have, the resource state I call up was the bike ride along the San Antonio riverside on a sunny afternoon. This is what my resource state looks like:
I feel the sunshine on my face and the breeze blowing through my hair. My favorite Latin jazz song was playing. I see the tree, the grass, and the flowers wavering along with the wind, and golden sparkles filled the air. I feel like I was enclosed in a huge, golden, shiny bubble. I feel light, relaxed, trusting, and joyful.
I use this technique to prepare myself to be in the best mental state. I look out of my eyes and feel everything I feel when I was walking alone San Antonio Riverside. This technique is so effective that even I was walking among the crowd on the street, I feel as if I was stepping on the soft soil walking down the river stream.
In this “Resource State” article I wrote, I list more concrete steps you can take to find and anchor your research state. Check it out!
Multicultural Land Newsletter
My friend Beccy in London just launched her website and newsletter Multiculturalland! Beccy has lived so many different lives! She’s the community wizard of the online writing community Foster, a psychologist, a food lover working with Gordon Ramsey, a self-taught coder, a guitar player, and an entrepreneur. She also shares Taiwanese heritage (like me!) and lives around the world as a third culture kid her whole life.
Beccy is a curious person, a kind human being, and someone that is generous in sharing her story. She will be writing about “modern identities, dedicated to helping you become who you are.” in her Multiculturaland Newsletter. If you are thinking deeply about who you are, be sure to subscribe and explore with us together!
Little Secret
As you can probably see, this newsletter is not the most “perfect” public writing. And I feel so GOOD about this! Usually, before I publish an English article, I will ask my husband Paul (who’s a native English speaker) for helping me check my grammar and English expression. But I love sending out a newsletter knowing that it’s imperfect.
This newsletter has become a space where I give myself the permission to make mistakes and have fun. And I really appreciate you still reading and supporting me!
My Humble Brag
I just learned the phrase “humblebrag” this week and found it hilarious but useful. As a parting gift, I’m going to humblebrag about a masterpiece gifted by my friend Claudia I met at a housewarming party yesterday.
She told me I can put this drawing under my pillow, so when I miss her and feel sad, I can look at the painting and think of her :) ( The girl with long hair falling onto the grass is me ;) )
Aren’t kids the most loving and genuine creatures in the world?
May you have a child-like happy Sunday!
Angie