True Balance

Many of the clients I coach reach out to me because they are overwhelmed with runaway train schedules, insane mental chatter and too many commitments. We share our time uncovering what a new more peaceful reality can look like. You can tame your pregnant mind and reduce anxiety by using the following check list.

• Prioritize.  Line up realistic actionable tasks for your dream project within a specific time frame.  Monitor you performance by creating a critical path time-line. Incremental progress toward your dream IS PROGRESS. Celebrate each victory, no matter how insignificant they feel at the time.

• Get real. Perfectionism is an unhealthy expectation. Trying to be perfect all the time will paralyze you and halt your performance. Instead of setting your site on perfection, focus on excellence and get moving.

• Be gentle with yourself. You must not berate yourself with negative self-talk and mental rubbish. Your best weapon to clobber the schoolyard bully in your head is positive self-talk.  What happens when you catch your evil twin being mean and nasty? What if you stopped those thoughts immediately upon their arrival?

• Ask for help.  Seeking an ear or advice from others will help you move along your chosen path with much less stress and anxiety. Chances are there are droves of people who have been where you are and would be willing to help you.  How can I support you?

• Play.  Make time for family and friends and do the activities you enjoy. You deserve to enjoy yourself. Create some regular play time and have a blast!  What kind of activities do you enjoy? When was the last time you enjoyed goofing around?

• Check in with how you feel mentally and physically. Pay attention to when you feel your well is dry and find a way to fill up again.  A change of scenery or a few deep cleansing breaths may be all you need to keep your energy flowing.  I like to take mini breaks by stepping outside and soaking up the beauty of a natural setting.

• Clobber your fear.  Most people on the planet are dealing with fear in all shapes and sizes. From the annoying little monsters under your bed, to the giant panther ready to pounce on you in the middle of the jungle, fear is something we create in our minds.  I have learned that when I take action on something daunting the fear falls away.  How do you address your fears?

I trust you will find some of these simple stress reducing ideas useful.  I would love to hear about how you tame your pregnant mind.  If you have an interest in getting some additional support for stress and anxiety, you are welcome to visit Anxiety Slayer .

Lately the current of my mind has been terribly engaged. The feeling is like being pulled under and dragged out to sea in a riptide of psychological activity. I seem to be rolling with big ideas, spilling over with tiny tasks and overflowing with unfocused creativity.

All of this mental activity leads to feeling scattered. The gears in my brain spin and then lock up.  The more I check in with how I am feeling and what I need, the more I realize the lack of focus has everything to to do with the Autumnal transition and my new, not yet comfortable routine for Fall.

It’s time to get clear, get focused and re energize. It time to swim away from the tumultuous surface current that has a hold of me.

The plan is to revise my daily schedule. The trick to living a balanced life is understanding we are always in a state of change. Recalibrating daily habits and swimming away from the rip current will help me slow down, focus my energy and get back to shore.

Here is my plan for nourishing my hijacked spirit whilst participating in the new pace of my life.  I hope you can use this life ring of ideas to quiet your mind and rescue you from your own undercurrent of unfocused madness.  : -)

Getting Quiet

Making time to sit quietly each morning is lovely way to begin each day. Even 5 minutes will make a difference.  Enjoying a fresh cup of coffee in silence or creating time to sit and reflect. Writing your thoughts in a journal may be your choice for quiet time.  I like to mix things up.  How about you?  What do you do to get quiet?

Sharing time with positive people

Sharing time with positive uplifting people is key to increasing your energy and lifting your spirit. Anybody who brings you down is not part of the solution. Take inventory of the people and personalities in your life.  Your energy will mirror the people you surround yourself with.

Infuse your life with nature

As I write this I am looking out the window at a huge maple tree just beginning to share her new fall colors with me. I have a pickle jar filled with Petoskey stones on my desk and small red and yellow sunflower that is on the ready to retire.  I bring the natural world into my environment to keep me grounded.

As important as it is to bring nature inside, it’s also a good idea to get out in the natural world. Walk along a woodland path, skip some flat stones across the lake, tack a sack lunch to a nearby park and breathe in the beauty of nature.  How do you infuse your life with nature?

Daily yoga practice

As a student of yoga and yoga instructor I realize the importance of honoring my body with a regular yoga practice. When I became a teacher I stopped being a student. It’s time to balance my love for yoga by making room in my life to be a yoga student.  Do you have a daily yoga practice?  Do you want to learn more about what that might look like?

Cultivating mindfulness

Unconscious behavior is easy to step back into when you feel overwhelmed and out of sorts. Practicing mindfulness will improve your outlook on life and teach you a lot about the way you are, the way you roll.  What does it mean to be mindful?  To me it is thoughtful consideration as well as witnessing your own behavior.  Mindfulness is a  gift that can be internally mined at any time.  How do you cultivate mindfulness?

“Happiness is not a matter of events; it depends upon the tides of the mind”

- Alice Meynell