A long time ago I learned the concept of “Stacking”. Now in my experience we can use stacking in a few different ways in our lives to be hugely beneficial for our wellbeing.
If you look up Stacking in the dictionary it will read “arrange (a number of things) in a pile, typically a neat one.” This would be one on top of the other.
This is literally an example of the first way to use stacking. Anything that you stack mentally or verbally. And anything that we add to these piles will eventually influence how we feel about something or even someone.
Our perspective on a situation will shape the emotions we feel and attach to the situation, ultimately influencing the outcome. For example have you ever been in a situation where you remember an experience completely differently than someone else, who was also experiencing the exact same moment at the same time?
Let’s say, You and your friend go to a restaurant and enjoy a delicious meal. The two of you appreciate being able to spend time together and have a nice night, but the waiter makes the meal slightly less enjoyable with their rude service and demeanor. When you look back on the experience later, what you remember most is how rude the waiter was. This negative association shapes your entire view of the evening. Your friend however, doesn’t remember the waiter at all. They only remember how tasty the food was and how much they enjoyed the restaurant’s ambiance.
When it comes to memory and perceiving experiences, there is no correct version. The version you view as truthful is the one you remember most vividly.
Have you ever gone through a time in your life where you felt negative or sad? What was happening is that we were mentally or verbally stacking up all the things that we felt were not good in our life. Was there things about life in that moment that could have been great?? Sure you just weren’t looking for them because your brain was focused on the stacking of less ideal circumstances. If we were to shift our perspective to look for the things that make us happy or grateful in our lives, such as a hot cup of coffee or even the sun shining, we feel excited and good about ourselves and we begin to feel even more excitement in our lives. Just as stacking negative feelings can leave us in a moment of sadness, the stacking of positive things in our lives can have us feeling excited and grateful. Really a gratitude journal is a stacking of all the positive things in our lives. When I write in my gratitude journal in the morning it has me finding more positive things throughout my day. Such as journaling at night allows me to feel peace and gratitude before bed.
As I have personally learnt that the meaning we attach to an experience is often more important than the experience itself, as the meanings we attach turn into emotions and ultimately those emotions frame the life we live.
“Life is happening for you, not to you”
To be clear when we are reframing a situation it isn’t about pretending a situation is great when it may not be. It’s about discovering what COULD be great about this situation or what could be learned from a situation or how to create a better outcome. Perspective is a powerful thing. When you can reframe a situation or interaction, you can often change the outcome. It all depends on how you choose to look at a situation and what you choose to stack. In any situation, a negative and a positive can be found.Which one will you choose?
The second way we can use stacking in our lives is to establish new habits.
When trying to make a lasting change in your life, one of the easiest ways to make it stick, is to stack it. Take something that is already a habit in your life and stack the new habit you want to incorporate into your life onto the existing habit.
A couple of easy ways to this is, Incorporating affirmations while getting ready in the morning. Sticking your affirmations on your bathroom mirror and while you are brushing your teeth in the morning repeat them in your head.
Also wanting to Incorporate a 10 min yoga/ Visualization each morning? This could be easily stacked onto making the bed in the morning. After making your bed roll out your yoga mat on the floor and start your 10 minute practice.
Trying to add more water into your day? Have a glass of water every time you have a coffee.
These are just a few simple ways to incorporate some very powerful habits In your life without making any drastic changes, just by simply adding onto what you are already doing. This will allow them to be sustainable for the long run.
Did this give you any ideas on how you could start incorporating stacking into your life?
The coaches at Black Bar Fitness and I are happy to help you build skills and guide you in these areas to create a happy, healthier you!!
Jenn
Book your Free No Sweat Intro Here https://blackbarcrossfit.com/ . We can help!