After a frustrating day at work or fight with your significant other, calling a friend to complain might seem like a good idea.
Venting won’t help you manage your anger, though, according to a recent paper published in Clinical Psychology Review.
Researchers studied how effective arousal-increasing activities, like venting or running, and arousal-decreasing activities, like meditation or yoga, are at calming a person down.
They analyzed 154 studies involving more than 10,000 participants and found that arousal-decreasing activities were better at helping a person manage their anger.
Next time you want to unload your problems on a friend, take a beat and consider meditating instead.
Where am I placing my attention?
If you’ve never meditated before, it can be hard to know if you’re practicing in a way that will prove beneficial.
Jade Weston, a senior meditation producer at Ten Percent Happier who has been meditating for 15 years, offered CNBC Make It three guiding questions you can ask yourself while practicing:
- Where am I placing my attention? Take note of where your mind wanders and try to refocus it on your breath.
- How am I feeling right now? Think about what mood you’re in. Don’t try to change it, just take stock of how you’re feeling.
- What is my intention? Remind yourself why you wanted to pursue meditation. This can motivate you to continue.
Answering these questions can help you feel more present in the moment.
’15 to 20 minutes will give you just the changes that you need’
You don’t have to meditate for a long time in order to see positive results, Vishen Lakhiani, a meditation expert and CEO of Mindvalley told CNBC Make It.
Lakhiani recommends meditating for no more than 20 minutes a day. But, sometimes, you only need one minute to reset.
“For most people, 15 to 20 minutes will give you just the changes that you need,” he said. “You can take a one- to three-minute dip into peacefulness, and you can see remarkable results.”
A few minutes of silence could help lower your frustration levels, more so than ranting to a relative.
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