Hello lovely,
I guess it’s funny to think that the TrulyMadlyDeeply Happy dame has been wallowing in it, but yep, I have. Big time.
I’m going to tell you a little personal story here to illustrate how important it is to follow 3 Steps when you’re feeling like taking a vacation from your life. It works for me every time. More about that later.
This blog is never about me. It’s about using my experiences to help you, if you find yourself in the same boat.
So, here’s me of late!
I spent an entire Saturday in bed on the weekend. OK, it was raining, and I was working on my laptop, that’s how I justified it. But in truth, I just didn’t want to get up.
Sunday was pretty much the same, but eventually I dragged my sorry arse out of bed, got dressed and took myself out of the apartment.
Believe me when I say it was a supreme effort to do this.
I’d been focusing on missing my daughter and her beautiful partner who returned to NY last week, (I’m Sydney based). I love having my family around me, but you don’t always get what you want, and neither should you if if means that your children are happy on their adventure through life! I’d also been obsessing about a business venture that has pushed all of my ‘why can’t you make this work, you must be an idiot’ buttons:)
I know, I know. There is no such thing as failure, it’s feedback. I say that all the time. But hey, I’m not perfect. These ideals represent my default state, but I couldn’t quite summons the energy at this stage to get over myself.
So, by Sunday I decided to visit my ‘toolkit’ of emotional well being. It’s funny isn’t it, that when you feel like crap, all of the normal things that you do to maintain your sanity, go flying out the window.
At the very time you should be eating well, writing in your Gratitude Diary, calling friends, reconnecting with the world if you like, it’s the last thing you feel like doing.
The thing is, looking back on the last few days I went through a process that subconsciously I was reverting to, and worked.
So here is my 3 step process of how I got over this hiccup, and I hope it helps.
1. First of all I decided to allow myself to feel my feelings. I ACKNOWLEDGED THEM.
On a global scale they may be insignificant, but I allowed myself the right to feel them. Your pain is relevant to your life. And it’s your life. You cannot compare it to other people’s lives. (sorry Mum:) I know there’s always someone worse off than me, but hey… they’re my feelings and I’m going to damn well feel them without shame.)
2. I allowed myself to do whatever it took to process how I was feeling, my way.
I stayed in bed and switched off from the world for a day. And it was nice. I loved that it was raining and I felt safe in my little cocoon.
3. Because, and only because I’d trusted myself to know that this wasn’t a permanent state, I could finally revisit my trusty tools that get me back on track.
So this is what happened next.
On Sunday, I rang a few friends and reconnected with ‘my world’, if you like. I was reluctant, but did it anyway. I guess that there is a part of me that trusts my beautiful friendships, but there is also a part of me that is protective of myself. I don’t want anyone suggesting the ‘positives’ for me when I know them already. Do you relate? Having said that, I knew I had to get my mind off me, and all I had to do was ask them about what’s happening in their lives, and it took the mental ‘pressure’ of me having to tell them exactly how crap I was feeling.
I realised that I hadn’t written in my gratitude diary for seven weeks. Seven weeks !! So I got cracking! I started writing all of the things that I am grateful for in my life. Wow.
I can never believe how quickly you can turn around your thoughts by simply jotting down a few things in a gratitude journal.
Before 10 minutes were up, I found myself with such a great sense of peace. My focus shifted onto what I don’t have to what I have. Such a simple process and I could feel my energy change.
I love life. It present challenges, but it’s what you do with them that counts.
We all have our different methods of coping, and I hope that this post has helped you in some way. Let me know!
Best love, as always,
- My Go To Remedy When Life’s Tough - March 5, 2015
- My Personal Story Of Gratitude - February 22, 2015
- Sense of Purpose – 3 Tips - February 21, 2015
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