Overwhelm is not fun. Worrying makes us sick. And it is so hard to stop. Try as we might, sometimes it is damn near impossible to flip this around, especially when we have extreme challenges facing us.
Any chance you recall Little Shop of Horrors? The plant becomes ginormous, takes charge, and commands those around it to "Feed Me."
Our mind is the plant (stay with me here). It is screaming FEED ME. What does it need? What does it want from me? It wants its favorite junk food. Worry. It can't get enough. It is never full.
It wants you to tear your hair out, walk around in circles, wring your hands, think about every negative "what if" you can imagine until you are completely powerless. It feeds on fear. And it is insatiable.
We must understand how significant this is. It is the only path to overcoming it. To taking your power back. To showing your mind who's the boss around here.
So where do we start?
Stay present. Seems simple enough.
So what is staying present?
Be in the moment. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing. If you are vacuuming, driving, feeding the cats, dusting, watching a movie, talking with friends, reading this right now. Keep your mind present. If it wanders, pull it back to the present.
We do not want our minds wandering into the land of -I wonder how work will be tomorrow? I wonder if my kid is okay? I'm hoping I keep my job. I'm praying I don't get sick. Will I ever see Paris again? And on and on. Do. Not. Let. You're. Mind. Wander. Stay present.
There's only now. There's only here.
The more you practice staying present, and it ain't gonna be easy, the more empowered you will be. You must cultivate this every day. Your mind is going to be pretty pissed off at you for trying to take back the controls, and will try like hell to come at you with everything its got and destroy you. But stay present. Stay present. Stay present.
Here are three tips to help you stay present when you have too much time on your hands, and you start wandering down the rabbit hole, or are feeling anxious.
1. Get physical.Take a walk, a shower, dance in the living room, garden, re-arrange your furniture. Physical activity can more easily shift your mind back to the present.
2. Immerse yourself.This could be a work task, giving the resume a facelift, cleaning out your closet, baking brownies, cooking up a five course meal, each paired with wine, putting in that old movie and dressing up like its Oscar night. This will work with anything you immerse yourself in, but feels especially good if you lose yourself in something you love.
3. In this moment. Look at your surroundings and say -In this moment I am safe. In this moment I am well. In this moment I have food and shelter. In this moment I have friends. In this moment I am grateful.This can bring you back to center and help you recognize and appreciate you are ok in this moment.
What does this have to do with success?
I want you to stop letting fear push you around. I want you to be able to move forward. You have great things to do. You have great gifts to share. You cannot be frozen by fear, worry, sadness, frustration.
You must be courageous and create this new normal. Once and for all. Because the world is waiting for you. And when this happens, you will unlock the badass inside.
If you're wondering what the hell I'm even talking about, I'm here to to help you stop feeding your mind junk food and create a new normal.
You might also like my blog post: Each Tiny Step IS Your Success
And if you're interested in Little Shop of Horrors,
check out this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFENSU8CmZk
