State > Story > Strategy: To overcome challenges and increase the quality of our life it is critical to learn to change our physical state, to recognize and revise our stories, and to have truly effective strategies.
Phase 1 Skills are heavily geared toward the first of these goals which involves teaching you to recognize which of the three primary nervous system states you are in (safe/connected, fight/flight, or freeze/shut down) and how to shift yourself back up in the direction of the top of the ladder feeling safe/connected. It is critical to understand these nervous system states so that you can make sense of how you are feeling and adjust accordingly. Please make sure to read the post: What is State Shifting? for understanding this key information.
Phase 1 skills are about noticing and interrupting maladaptive loops our mind, brain, and body get stuck in. Even though they may not permanently resolve the reason we go into these loops, it will almost certainly improve your life greatly to start recognizing and learning immediate interventions to shift your state in the right direction. As your state shifts up the nervous system hierarchy toward feeling more safe, balanced, and open to connection most of the other daily things in your life will feel that much easier. As your nervous system sends the message, “I’m safe, I can relax, it’s all good,” your subconcious stories for understanding whatever current situation and your strategies for navigating it can also update in a positive direction.
You don’t need to master all of them, but I recommend experimenting with them and identifying at least one or two go to in the moment skills and one or two of the slightly longer practices to work into your daily routines. Remember to review the How to Use These Resources Wisely page for advice on how to wisely and safely implement these skills.
Below is a brief video by Tony Robbins explaining how he has found in working with thousands of people that starting with state change is often the best place to start versus trying to change stories/beliefs or strategies first. While this may not always be true and there may be times that we simply have to deal with updating the stories/beliefs first to resolve particular symptoms I would highly encourage you to experiment with and add some of these state shifting exercises to your skills armada.