Conscious De-stressing
“Letting go helps us to to live in a more peaceful state of mind and helps restore our balance. It allows others to be responsible for themselves and for us to take our hands off situations that do not belong to us. This frees us from unnecessary stress.”
Most of us live pretty fast-paced lives, but at this time of year, our expectations of ourselves can be truly over the top. If this sounds like you, it is possible to manage your stress nonetheless, but only if you make a plan and follow through on some wholesome actions that will help you to counteract the craziness. Included below are the best ideas I have for you this week. You know yourself, and may find that, based on past experience and your own creativity, you can augment the list. That’s great! But even if not, this list can help you remember to have your own back. Add it to your favorites bar if you want just to give yourself a daily visual reminder. Ready?
Commit. Either at the beginning or end of your day (preferably both), decide that you’re going to spend at least five minutes doing something that reminds you of what’s most important to you, and letting go of the other stuff, such as:
-Meditate
-Tap on whatever you’re feeling uncomfortable about
-Do some slow, deep belly breathing
-Ask for help from a higher power/ancestors/anything you believe in spiritually
-Say a few affirmations about who you choose to be. You might want to repeat these throughout the day whenever you have a spare moment
-Repeat a few of your most important goals or values to yourself to get focused on your own agenda; you’ll be more likely to recognize when others are trying to be influence you toward theirs, and retain the ability to make your choices consciously
- Remind yourself that, even when you forget, the truth is that you still have a lot of choice, in amongst responsibilities, about how your day proceeds. Own your power—and choose to wield it for good!
Outside of those fee concentrated moments, these ideas may help as well:
-As you go about your day, see if you can recognize where you have choices about how to do something, and enjoy making the best ones you can. Try to bring some fun into your tasks. This will help you to feel less swept away in an irresistible tide of overwhelm.
-If you are dealing with a tendency toward overwhelm, get everything out of your head and onto a piece of paper or a note on your phone. This might take the form of journaling (which can help you feel less bottled up) or making a list of tasks (which makes the number of things on your mind into a finite list rather than a nebulous sum total of every possible action you could take that might help you, or someone, right now. I feel a little overwhelmed right now just thinking about that!)
-When you take a break, do some very quick Tapping. Just a round or two can help you relax noticeably before you return to the fray
-Remember to keep breathing. All day! Deep breaths never become an obsolete idea. If you’re only breathing in a shallow, restricted manner, you’re just not going to feel very good
-Ask yourself at every opportunity whether you can do this (whatever you’re doing) with relaxation rather than tension. It’s a simple question, but it will remind you to look for another way rather than staying locked in high-stress mode when you don’t have to. This will help you give yourself permission to enjoy your tasks more
At times of high activity, things can get really out of hand. Don’t just give in to overwhelm—take a few small steps each day toward balance, and you can get through it with your sanity intact!