How Tony Robbins Handles Negativity in Life

“The only problem we really have is we think we’re not supposed to have problems! Problems call us to a higher level- – face & solve them now!” – Tony Robbins

We all deal with stress in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes it’s the boss, sometimes it’s our friends and sometimes it’s our own brain that just won’t shut up.

But don’t fret. There are powerful ways to cut this out.

How do we get sad?
Tony Robbins gives a wonderful solution to nuke negativity. He says that our self-defeating thoughts are not based on who we are but on our emotional states. Learn how Robbins handles negativity in life and you’ll make your own life better.

For example, if you feel low after waking up, your mind will make up gloomy stories about your life. But if you go for a quick run and come back, your mind will make up a happy story. A low emotional state will lead to low stories. This is why exercise works better than antidepressants for people who suffer from depression.

How to not get sad?
The key here is to change your biochemistry to get rid of negative thinking. All that negative self-talk would vanish if you just “prime” your state. You can prime your state by any intense physical activity such as push-ups, running, breath of fire and so on.

Mastering Emotions

Tony Robbins handles negativity in life by following the State-Story-Strategy principle. If you’re in a sad emotional state, you’ll hear a sad story from your mind and your strategy will be equally bad. Tony says that you must first prime your state, that is, fix your biochemistry, by physical exercise.

Hence, priming is important because sometimes we don’t need to solve our problems but fix the emotional states that create those problems.

Tim Ferriss, a huge fan of this principle, says that “Sometimes, you think you have to figure out your life’s purpose, but you really just need some macadamia nuts and a cold f-ing shower.”

Tony Robbins Priming Exercise – Watch Motivational Video

Tony Robbins’ Priming Routine

Tony Robbins handles negativity in life by priming his emotional state every morning. Here’s what his morning routine looks like.

1. Cold-water Plunge

The first thing Tony does after waking up is jumping in the cold shower. Cold shower naturally wakes you up and charges you up for the day.

2. Rapid Breathing exercise

This is similar to the yogic “Breath of fire”. Yogis claim that breath of fire is the key to accessing higher consciousness. Robbins does 3 sets of 30 breaths every day.

- To do this exercise, sit with your back erect, hands placed on your knees and eyes closed.
- Now push your navel inwards, towards the spine during the exhale and release it on the exhale. Your mouth will remain closed on inhale as well as exhale. Imitate a panting dog to know the rhythmic pattern, but keep your mouth closed.
- You can speed up the inhales and exhales, but make sure they’re rhythmic and of equal length. 2-3 cycles per second with no pause is a good rate of breathing.

3. Expressing gratitude

Expressing gratitude is a simple habit which often gives huge returns. Tony says that you cannot be grateful and angry, or grateful and fearful at the same time. So gratitude can detoxify your mind of negativity.

To express gratitude, just count a few things you feel thankful for. These things could include a lunch date with an old friend, a new creative idea for work, your friends who always lift you up and so on.

4. Prayer

You don’t need to believe in God to pray. Robbins spends three minutes to seek strength and wish goodness to his loved ones. So just tune into your heart, ask for strength and wish everyone good luck.

When you can control your emotions, you can harness their power to succeed in life. So now that you know how Tony Robbins handles negativity in life, try it and see how it feels.