I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed this week with moving from the UK to here in NZ, so I’ve listened to several podcasts by Mel Robbins – author, life coach and podcaster, on things I can do to help myself feel a little more in control.
The main points I take away from her podcasts are (in no particular order).
• Nothing lasts for ever, and these feelings shall pass.
• I should be putting exercise as a priority – it is often overlooked “I’ll do it when I’m finished” on whatever task, and then being too tired or unmotivated to do it after. Get up earlier and do it, no excuses.
• Get out and surround yourself in nature – it is well documented the uplifting effect being in nature has on your mind/body/soul, so get out and about.
• I should embrace the creative process – be it art, music, literature, crafting. Allowing the brain to go off piste from the task at hand is a good thing (even though it may feel counterproductive), spend time on doing the things that make you happy.
• Take a break, or regular breaks from the things that are stressing you. You can only focus on so much for so long, get up and take a break.
• Brain dump – I like this one. Get a piece of paper and write down all the things you believe you are needing to accomplish right now. Once you’re done, pick the three most urgent to do, everything else can wait. Sometimes seeing it written down can help work out the priority things need to get done in.
• Ring a friend, talk to a colleague, reach out to someone.
• Break it down – if it’s all too much to do at once, do what you can do now, in an hour, the next few hours or even days. Stop trying to do it all, all at once.
• Breathe – just take a breath, the world won’t stop spinning just because you’ve taken a time out.
There are probably countless other things not on this list, but for now, I’m going to practice what I preach: pop on some music, make a cup of tea, and scroll the web for cars for sale.
Fiona