I was listening to this inspiring video by David Bayer one of my friends (and coach too) Karen Astill sent to me as she thought this might give me some inspiration on how I can move forward in life with more ease, joy and flow instead of having to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders, and simply find a way to give myself a break from thinking about what is happening in the world.
I have my own ways of escaping things like using mindfulness, music and singing which are really great and extremely useful tools for me. But ultimately, as well as all the self-care I’m already investing in, it’s also about changing the focus of what I think about everyday, developing that awareness of my thought processes, and in turn, reducing the burden of those heavyweight thoughts and incoming negative energy that the news or general stress in our everyday lives for example can bring.
Talking through problems can be helpful of course, but sometimes, we can speak our problems into existence if something is always on the forefront of your mind, which can make the problem seem even bigger. That’s not to say we should bottle our problems inside, but instead, learn to speak to your own self. Tell yourself something in a way that works for you, such as “It’s not happening to me right now” or “It’s ok, I’m safe” and consciously choose to let these thoughts go. When we catch them, this is the best time to develop a better awareness around our thoughts and when we might be bringing the problem into our reality unnecessarily in the present moment which takes away our feelings of joy and inner peace. It’s easy still to get caught up in negative or fear-based thoughts, particularly when we’re tired or busy, but we can’t be 100% perfect all the time, so we use these moments for self-compassion and wait for the next arising thought that you might want to let go of.
Words can be so powerful – we can create our own reality through everything we say out loud. If we constantly think fearful thoughts, then it will look really scary on the outside through this lens despite the distractions, even if they are self-care based. However, if we feed ourselves with positive thoughts, surround ourselves with those people who lift us higher, those people who want the best for you, and do more of the things that make you happy, then the lens we look through can feel much more peaceful, fun, uplifting and inspiring even.