Notice, Name, Relax and Release: A Method for Emotional Control

I attended the Hololife Summit in Tokyo in October last year. Formerly known as the Biohackers Summit, it was really educational. Most of the talks were basic but good reminders on things I should be doing more. Things like drinking more water and spending more time in nature. 

But the talk by author and professor Rebecca Kochenderfer was probably the most helpful for me. She said something in her talk that hit, she said:  “You aren’t broken, you are just emotional.” And that most emotions last no more than 3 minutes but we act on them which can be very detrimental to us and those around us. 

So she introduced a concept called Notice, Name, Relax and Release. When you feel an emotion, especially one that is overwhelming. Stop, breathe and do the process. “Notice” how you are feeling, then “Name” it, usually anger or fear for me. “Relax” by box breathing and then “release it”, just let it go. So simple. Maybe too simple. But I’ve started using this and it’s been helpful. 

Hopefully you can use this too. Use it to manage your emotions and make less bad decisions. Small steps like this will help you make your life better.