Every week day morning I hear clanging and banging in our kitchen as a tornado of a man (aka my fiance) rushes around cooking breakfast, packing his lunch, getting dressed and ready for work, and any other number of small things he has to do before leaving for the day. Sometimes he's running a little late and he'll start dropping and bumping into things, spilling his coffee, stepping on the dog that doesn't get out of the way quick enough. And every time I think "If he'd just slow down he'd stop losing time from clumsiness that he's trying to gain by going faster in the first place."
I know it sounds like I'm throwing him under the bus, buuuuut....
I literally do the same thing an hour or so later 🤦♀️ You'd think I'd take my own advice, right? LOL
We rush through our days due to our schedules, expectations, and the constant need to be on to the next thing. We're stressing about getting one thing done right now as we get more and more anxious about potentially being late for the next thing. We lay in bed at night considering our packed schedule tomorrow wondering if we'll get it all done.
And because of this we say to ourselves and others "I don't have enough time!" or "Time is just going by so fast!".
Something I've been working on is slowing time down and I think it could be beneficial for society as a whole. And nothing about my actual schedule and commitments is changing all that much.
Instead I'm changing myself and what I do. And you could give it a try, too.
It's incredibly simple:
Allow yourself to be in the moment- intentionally observe, breathe, listen. I know it sounds so simple that it couldn't possibly work, but I challenge you to do it a few times anyways. Just a couple minutes is all you need. Ya know, the same couple minutes you spend scrolling on your phone as you wait at the doctor's office or ride the elevator. Heck, do it while you’re brushing your teeth or waiting for your kid to get out of soccer practice or when you’re sitting in your car right after you pull into your drive way. It doesn't necessarily have to be in a quiet space- the point is to be able to do it wherever you are.
What do you see around you? The blue sky, the watch on your wrist, the reflection of your dashboard in the window?
What do you hear? The AC in your car, your own breathing, birds chirping?
What can you feel? The seat you're sitting on, the breeze across your face, the sun on your skin?
I know it works because I've done it myself. I've been working on being more intentionally in the NOW.
You'd be surprised what taking a couple of minutes to slow things down can do for you mentally.
Just like little stressful things, that individually aren't a big deal, can build up together and make you feel like your life is blowing up, so can little replenishing activities build up and help you feel better.
If you're truly giving yourself the chance to be in the right now moment you'll find that your stress and anxiety will take a dip. And once you get back to your regularly scheduled things you'll likely find yourself to be able to handle it with more ease.
Of course this is going to work better and better the more you do it. So give it a try and see how it goes! If you do tell me about it!
Comments