I don't know about you, but do you ever catch yourself buzzing around your day and feel like you have been "chasing your tail", dropping all the balls that you are juggling, brushing your teeth with oreos, all while you are drenched with sweat? I do often! It hasn't been until recently that I have to literally ground myself. Ground myself with prayer and strategies. I never in a million years thought I would ever be able to get some sort of grip on my anxiety, overwhelming feeling of stress, frustration, and just overall having that defeated feeling each and every single day.
Friend, I promise it doesn't have to frantically be this way.
But............. what about this circumstance? What if I just do not have any time? What about what if this has happened? What about all the crazy stuff going on in this world? What about what this person has done? What about what if I have self inflicted things upon myself now I'm stuck in the pit of shame, guilt, and regret? What about if my home life stinks? What about if my marriage is falling apart and crumbling right in front of our eyes? What is my finances are a mess? What if, what if, what if, what if, what if. We can literally add anything and everything to these situational circumstances.
I hope that you can truly self reflect and point to the things that are creating large Busy- Dizzzzy stressors for you. There are just some things that are life and are not going away or going to change, or down right going to "get better". Some things we will not understand until the end. Crazy I know to think that such icky-ness, sadness, and pain WILL turn into beauty and light.
One thing of a million things for me that contributes to my anxiety and worry and feeling of icky, is time. Not time management. But the fear of being late, thinking of all the things that I need to get done beforehand and seeing the list in my mind. I just have to really plan and do some things ahead of time even when I am just bone tired. I feel much better in the long run when I know I have put in work to prepare for the things that need to be done later. It makes life much easier.
Another is the unknown. As I mentioned, it hasn't really become lightened until recently that I have let go of so many things in my life. Not that I am not caring, but I am not allowing certain things to stress me out or control my mind. I am a person of faith. Some may not be. I have found that when I am in THE WORD, praying regularly, talking to God about IT ALL, surrendering hourly at times, and really putting things into practice........I can have peace. True peace. I don't have the sharp heart pain in my chest or the inner jitters from a panic attack. I can really breathe without all the heavy!
There just has to come to a point where you decide what gets to take space in your mind! I hope that you can work on things for yourself. Maybe it's for you, for your family, for whatever else....but it has to start with YOU!
Here are a few very simple and practical things that have helped me recently. There are many more, but for now.......hear ya go: Let me first say this.....I am no expert! But, I am an expert on dropping balls left and right and starting over again and again, crawling out of my pit, and dusting myself off, pulling my hair back in my messy bun, and slapping on some red lipstick:) Back to here ya go:
1. Take a good, long, hard look at yourself inside and out. I wasn't happy with how I felt, and that had a domino effect on the way I felt about myself on the outside. I made my mind up that I wanted to be heart and mind healthier. Not super model cover-size 00, but heart and mind healthy for my children, for my husband, for myself, and for God. I made myself move more, decluttered more, was more aware of what I was putting into my body. Did some mild research on what the GIANT words were on the back of boxes that are to be just the food itself, but you guys, there are so many terrible things in our food that are just yucky and take a huge toll on our hearts and minds! I made sure not stress myself out by trying to cut everything out and be perfect, but just being aware over time what things are in my/our foods and what we were eating. It takes practice and it's truly a lifestyle change. Gut and brain!!! Process, progress over perfection!
2. Doing something about it! Really doing something about and not just saying I need to. If you make a decision to work out, eat healthy, not drink sodas any longer, stretch for 5 minutes, sleep more, stop interacting with the toxic things in your life,.......... or maybe you're tired of always being late and feeling 55,000 steps behind/off and you need to put a system in place to help you and your family to function smoother.......... maybe you and your family need to talk to someone.........Whatever it is.........then do it!
I have struggled with diastasis-recti for years. Like 13! That's a super long time to have muscle separation in the abdomen and having a very weak core. I was in a stage of life where my babies were small, my husband worked nights, I worked during the day, and I just didn't have the time to do anything about it. Well, let's back up......before the time issue.....I didn't know what the heck was wrong with my body. I was just told to do crunches or have a tummy tuck. I allowed my ignorance on that topic to let me feel defeated and like I couldn't ever fix it even though I had read and read about it and still didn't understand it. After several years, more silver hairs developing, more resources and working hard to pay for it, prayer, and a client I had taken photos of and us chatting it up,........with her recommendation, I finally found a place that specializes in this type of thing. I told myself IT WAS TIME! It was time! I drew the line, called, faced my fears, made the appointment, and stuck with it! GAME CHANGER!!!!! With help, I have repaired my core (ongoing process), feel stronger, and I can sneeze without fear!,....... and just by me being determined, I am now tackling so many other body challenges and pains head on! AND DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
3. Checking in with yourself often and giving yourself GRACE! This is important. Don't allow yourself to attach yourself with negative thoughts if you didn't get it "right" that day or that moment. Get your booty up and try again. Remember........don't allow yourself a front row seat to your own pitty party premier! It's perfectly fine to be human and have emotions and feelings about what's going on.......but.......do a healthy scan of yourself and your progress and adjust if needed. Rearrange and reset if you need to. If you are not seeing an improvemnt, results, or whatever else..........first, ask youself if you have given yourself enough time to see those changes that have been implemented. I know I am gulty of setting a goal and checking in with myself not even an hour later hoping to see results. NO! Give yourself some time! Or, this is me: I tell myself I need to drop a few pounds. Cool. I go walk, then after my walk I go weigh myself as I eat a penut butter cup........YES!! REAL LIFE EXAMPLES AT TIMES. I have learned along the way that sometimes I need to have a really long, hard, conversation with myself during my check in process. Be patient with yourself and with others! Don't compare your progress with others! Don't compare your life with others but instead help them. Tell them your testimony and share the struggles you may have faced during x,y,z. It helps people to feel human and not feel alone, and helps you to truly see what works and doesn't work for you. (That's a lot of YOU and others used!)
GRACE!! We are meant to have and be in community!
There's so much more that has helped me to have some sort of grounding-comfort in my life and definitely not perfection. We all have endless struggles and coping mechanisms. I hope that you feel you are not alone and that you do have the power to change what's not working. You have the power to implement changes in your life for good. Have comfort knowing that you do not need giant changes! Sometimes it's the smallest of the small things that lead up to the most impactful things. Breathe! Pray! Know YOU matter and have power! GRACE!! AND............YOU DO NOT NEED TO WAIT UNTIL JAN 1. Do it now for you!
XOXOXOXO,
Brandy
Brandy J. Art & Images
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