These days my default setting is calm, grounded and at peace with myself and the world.🌍
But for most of my life things were very different.
My creative mind (read restless, overthinking and probably a little ADD!) had me chasing the latest butterfly in the beautiful garden of life.
Yet I could never truly enjoy the butterfly or the garden for long, worrying if I was missing out (big-time FOMO) or spending too much time with any one “butterfly” or “flower”.
Here are 5 things I did to start 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 while bringing my 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 closer with 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.💥
𝟏. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞: 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞
Like the airline safety demonstration ingrained in my psyche, we cannot help others if we are struggling ourselves.
Even 5 minutes, taken every day, can be the difference between losing it and staying calm.
Or rather, remaining in alignment and in touch with your true nature.
I’ll go in depth into the importance of self-care soon!
𝟐. 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐅𝐓 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Here’s a little trick/example I’ve been teaching recently. If I say:
“I have to do all these things!”
How do you feel?
The mind will usually rebel against the obligation inherent in that and at least ask – why❓
Make a tiny change, moving the “to”:
“I have all these things TO do”.
How does that feel?
Freer, no doubt. I have all these things I could do – and actually, most of them I enjoy!😃
(I won’t go into setting up your life to do what you love here…)
But I will say that this shift allows you to see what’s really important, get out of your head and listen to your intuition so you can focus on Inspired Action.
𝟑. 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 “𝐑𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐫”: 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
I used to regularly feel overwhelmed by my to-do list. 📝
Not that I always had one. But I tried pretty much every task and time management tool and trick out there, with varying degrees of failure LOL.
Recently I started taking a different approach.
Yes there are tools involved and they underlie my day.
But the key thing was the mind shift.
I like to think of it like the radar screen on a submarine, like in the old James Bond movies, with concentric circles and blips for nearby vessels.
In the innermost circle I have the 2-3 key things that will move me towards my goals – “needle-movers”, if you like the idea of pedal to the metal
(I like to mix my metaphors! 😉)
I can still see the rest – my global vision of the other things I have planned to do, ongoing tasks and habits, etc.
But during my focussed work time, I am only focussed on these 2-3 things (usually 2).
I am so much more productive with this system and more importantly mindset.
And removing the clutter avoids overwhelm.
𝟒. 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞
I go through phases of obsessive observation. It is amazing what you can pick up by mindful awareness of your words, thoughts and behaviours.
But you can only get so far.
Unless you have mastered transcendental meditation (and even then…), seeing yourself from the outside is, by definition, impossible.
It can be a challenge hearing raw truths, but it is the only way to really learn.
Just remember that if it’s not true, it won’t hurt (more on that another time!).
And if it does, it’s worth asking why.
Find a trusted friend who knows you well and loves you well enough to tell you honestly what they see.
I also highly recommend finding a mentor/s who have been on a similar journey and can understand.
I have invested thousands in personal growth and coaching & mentoring.
Especially when I am at a crossroads and need that external perspective and professional accountability that a friend may not be able to provide.
𝟓. 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞: 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐀𝐋𝗪𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄!
In early 2013, following an intense emotional low, during which I had looked for help in books, courses and meditations but found none of them quite helped, I realised I needed a simple solution to pull me out of the quagmire.
What followed, what I discovered, did just that.
A simple tool I used to power up my life again.
You see I realised that it all boils to a simple choice: “do you want to be happy?” – and the overwhelming response was “YES!!”
Now there is a lot behind it, like the need to find and affirm self-love and esteem, negotiating with our emotions, etc.
(That turned into the beginning of a book, but that’s another story! It’s now in my programme.)
I used that question and the affirmation “I choose happiness” in mirror work (again another story of overcoming almost physically sick-making cringe!)
It helped massively shift my mood, indeed my whole perspective and in writing about this shift I turned things around.
More recently, this realisation of our infinite ability to choose led to my being able to finally lose the fear and make massive changes to my life, which I have been dealing with this summer.
I’ve alluded to some of this experience, and will continue to share, but despite the unexpected challenges, I have been able to deal with them far better than in the past – all while feeling more alive than I have in years!
And I am now renewing my application of these steps to get the new season and the last quarter of 2022 off to a flying start. 💪💯
Update: this turned into an ebook! I Choose Peace: 5 steps to beat overwhelm and increase inner peace and freedom is available on Amazon (you can read from any device with the free app).