Are you feeling it?
There aren’t enough hours in the day. There isn’t enough coffee to keep you going or yoga to stay grounded.
In fact, it’s all you can to do to focus on one thing (or maybe 2) at a time while your schedule fills to overflowing, only to change at the last minute, dashing your carefully laid plans. You want to be there – for your friends, family, co-workers, the causes, people and places that you care about, but it feels like a losing balance.
You’re busy . . . so busy that you don’t remember what it’s like to actually have a cleared to do list or to give yourself permission to do absolutely nothing at all.
You can’t focus, maybe you can’t sleep. Is it just you?
Heck, NO!!
Whether you want to say it’s the full moon, the holidays or just the state of the world, we’re living in INTENSE times.
I knew it was bad when even my yoga practice – the thing that I turn to ground and still my mind – started to feel like just another chore to check off on my list. I’d wake up, ready to roll out my mat, when the voices in my head would start:
“I have so much to do. I don’t have time for this. This is self-indulgent and there is work to be done.”
If and when I make it on to my mat, it’s not much better:
“Are you done yet? Do you know how much you still have to do? Ugh, this is taking forever!”
Not exactly the calm I was looking for.
We all want to do our best, to do it all, to not let anyone down or let anything fall through the cracks. But you know what? It does and it will. And it does not mean you’re failing at life.
It means you care and are showing up fully even though life is throwing more than one person can handle at you. It likes to do that. It never stops, particularly this year.
Given that, it’s more important than ever to have tools to keep you feeling supported, capable and calm.
Times like these require:
- A sense of humor – a GOOD sense of humor - because sometimes all you can do while surfing life’s waves is laugh and know that no matter how overwhelming it seems, things will work out.
- A huge dose of self-kindness. Stop listening to the voices in your head telling you that you need to do more. ou are doing your best. Your friends and family are amazed by you. Stop beating yourself up long enough to be amazed by you too (and yes, sometimes just making it through the day is an amazing feat).
- Speaking of friends and family. . . find support. Share your stories. Listen to theirs and then laugh in recognition that you’re not alone. We’re all on (and sometimes under) this wild ride together.
- Re-charge time. What gives you the energy to keep going when your batteries run low? Yoga? Dinner with a friend? An extra hour of sleep? A massage? A walk outside? It could even be as simple as taking 5 minutes to sit outside and breathe deeply before walking into a meeting.
- The right kind of fuel. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes sitting in my Adirondack chair with a glass or 2 (ok, maybe 3) of wine at the end of a long week, is exactly what I want to unwind. However, especially when stressed and busy, it’s easy to make that Friday glass of wine into a daily one, ultimately diminishing sleep quality, mental clarity and emotional stability.
The food that’s convenient to grab on the way home or snack on in the car is often not the best quality. It’s cheap, fast and easy but if we are what we eat, are those the words you want to describe the temple of your body?
Take care of your body. Go easy on your indulgences. Particularly if food is something you turn to for comfort, feed it food that will fuel it not just in the minute but for the day.
- Gratitude. Even on your worst days, there’s something that went right or caused a quick smile. If you don’t know where to begin, start small. Be grateful for your morning coffee, the person who smiled and held the door for you. . . Make a list. The more you shift your focus onto what’s going right, the more resilient you’ll be when dealing with the bad.
For an extra boost, join me for one of my upcoming workshops designed to release those deep layers of stress in both the mind and body:
