Recent world events have many of us feeling oddly isolated, over-extended, and waiting for the next crisis to tackle. Knowing that you spent the last 24 hours in a state of “bored-but-anxious” is exhausting and unhelpful. To avoid feeling stretched in directions that don’t matter, building grounding habits can help.
Get Outside
Take a daily walk. Unless the weather is trying to kill you, get outside and breathe fresh air. If your schedule is tight, combine getting the mail with a walk around the block. Take your dog out for a walk, or borrow the neighbor’s dog to stretch your legs and lower their schedule challenges.
If at all possible, try walking somewhere new at least once a week. Walk to your bank over your lunch break instead of hitting the ATM. While you walk, find a bit of green space and, weather permitting, take your shoes off and stand in the grass. Lift your face to the light and just breathe. Take a sip of water, feel the benefits of hydration and exercise, and celebrate this small improvement in your life.
Direct Your Habits
Like it or not, your brain is always forming habits. If you get home from work, grab a soda and play games on your phone, your body is ready for soda and your brain is ready for the thrills of the game. If you get home from work, change your clothes and walk your dog or take your kids to the park, your body is ready for comfortable clothes and exercise while your brain is ready for fresh air.
Putting the best habits for your life goals in place will free up space for decisions and creative thinking. Even better, putting a problem in your brain that needs creative solutions and engaging in habitual behavior, such as walking, can boost your access to the most creative parts of your brainpower. Good habits take less energy than good choices. Make good choices until the habit is firmly in place.
Declutter
There are many advisors for decluttering your home. If you haven’t figured out how to start, enter the most troubling space in your home with the following:
- a box for what you really want to keep
- a white trash bag for stuff to donate
- a black trash bag for garbage
Set a timer to help you focus. You have an hour to declutter and then you’re done. Decisions are tiring to the brain. Don’t ask your brain to declutter for hours on end. If you still can’t get started, visualize yourself walking through your regular activities with all your possessions trailing behind you. The yarn you’re probably never going to use, the clothes that no longer fit, and that odd kitchen appliance that you have to move every time you reach for the chips. It will be easier to get rid of these excess things by visualizing their drag on your life.
Connect to a Higher Power
There are a lot of folks who have become rather church-phobic. Whether you’ve had a rough experience as a church-goer in the past or are not sure what your beliefs are, you may be feeling spiritually lost.
A spiritual life coach can help you find a personal spiritual practice that will guide you to a calm space. You can get help learning to meditate, finding ways to reach out to others, and may even be able to guide you to a sticks and bricks religious home if that is what you seek.
Use Candlelight
Many of us are exhausted. Part of this exhaustion comes from having too much electrical light in our faces after the sun goes down. If you’re struggling to fall asleep, stay asleep or wake up, consider winnowing down your exposure to electric light at night.
To do this effectively and safely, use clear glass candle containers and set them on flat mirrors on a surface near your bed. Use nightlights to light walkways safely but leave overhead lights off after 8 pm. Let your brain embrace darkness to see if it helps you wind down. If it works with your schedule, get ready for bed right after dinner and let your body relax as your brain calms down.
