…clearing clutter from your mind, body and space
“Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action.” ~Walter Anderson
I know that it’s hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner. This year take the anxiety out of the holidays by planning ahead and taking action. Start November 1 and you will have eight weeks to handle all your holiday tasks. To help you handle the holidays stress-free, contact me for my Eight Week Holiday Planning Checklist.
Before you start working today, you may want to think about the things on your to-do list that you have been avoiding. Give yourself a few minutes to reflect on why you have been avoiding them. Perhaps it is because you dislike the task or because of a deeper emotion. By putting a name to that emotion and acknowledging it you are taking one step toward working through the issue might make you more motivated to dive into an undesirable task.
Understanding the reasons why you avoid certain things allows you to overcome your anxiety and accomplish your tasks. Even when you feel motivated, you might only choose to do the things that are interesting or pleasurable. While you’ll have a feeling of achievement, you are still not getting done what you need to do. It is important to include at least one task that you dislike when planning to take action because your motivation for other tasks will support you through the ones you want to avoid. Feeling accomplished will keep you motivated and will help you accomplish everything you need to do in your life today.
So set the intention today to do one thing that you have been putting off and it could make your day that much more productive.
Most of the time we focus on what we don’t have versus what we do have. We get buried by negativity…our own and others.
At any time, in any circumstance, there is much for which to be thankful. So feel grateful for your life…the good and the bad. Your life, the opportunities and the challenges, is what has made you who you are. Value your challenges as well as all the things that are right in your life.
Also, don’t waste time on negativity. Give power to the good in your world by focusing on it.
Even for just today. Be grateful for what you do have in your life right now. Remember like attracts like.
You may sometimes feel that the routine things that you do day in and day out are monotonous. Many of the tasks that are done to take care of your family, yourself or your work may seem commonplace or routine and, frankly, unexciting.
To change the ordinary to the meaningful, you might want to consider ways to make every activity more fulfilling. One of the best ways to do this is by emphasizing the positive and/or end result in whatever you do. As you shop for food for your family, acknowledge that you are doing your part to keep your family nourished and healthy. As you perform tasks in your work, envision the positive benefits your customers or co-workers enjoy because of your efforts. At the same time, you might also list the benefits that you personally enjoy from each activity. Benefits include such things as a stable income from your job or feelings of accomplishment from your goals.
Focusing on the positive benefits of your routine activities allows you to feel purposeful and joyful in everything you do. You don’t have to be doing something lofty or selfless in order to feel that you have a higher purpose. There are positive benefits to every activity you do. Choose to focus on the ways your efforts help others and yourself so you can reinforce a deeper sense of meaning in ordinary activities. Whether you are working at your job, helping others through charitable activities, or caring for your family, know that you are doing your part to make the world a better place. By emphasizing the benefits of your activities today, you can gain a sense of usefulness and satisfaction from everything you do.
What can we control? The simple and only answer is ourselves.
How often are we frustrated because we try to control people and circumstances that are out of our control? The reality is that we can’t change others, but we can influence them when we change ourselves.
We respond to various circumstances with emotions: anger, fear, sadness, etc. Those emotions arise because of how we view the situation. For example, we get angry when someone doesn’t meet an expectation of ours (and they may not even know it) and then we punish them with our silence. The other person is fine but you are furious. By reacting this way you have become the victim and the other person isn’t event aware. You have given them control over you.
We need to take control of our responses to allow us to handle situations without becoming victims. When we choose how we will respond to various situations or people, their response will be different. But more importantly, we will have defined boundaries that will allow us to be emotionally healthier no matter what others do.