Just Breathe

Over the last several months, I've found myself frequently giving away my power by doing a lot more "running around" than usual and I know it's time to re-focus. I don't necessarily mean the running around we do when we're tackling the endless errands or while tending to the high demands of stressful jobs, a home, children and their many activities. Yes, all of that can be challenging, but far more stressful is the imbalance we create in choosing the thoughts we allow to "run around" inside our head's.

It's that constant inner battle of, "I can't believe I didn't get to XXX today!" And, "I have to remember to do YYYY tomorrow!" And, "I didn't accomplish nearly what I needed to do," which leads to the inevitable, "What is wrong with me? Why can't I be more effective?"

We've all felt blessed with that sigh of accomplishment when we finish a necessary task and we long for the high we'll receive from that next check mark on our list. For many of us though, we cross one item off and our very next move is to create a new and sometimes, even more pressing task, leaving us to wonder, "Does it ever end?"

The answer is YES! All that we have is this very moment. We can use it to fret about yesterday and earlier today and we can create anxiety over later and tomorrow, but do we need to do that?

What if we used this moment to take 3 deep breaths and to appreciate the ability, freedom and motivation to choose what we'll do next and how we'll allow ourselves to think about that choice and its consequences? What if we used this moment to decide what is really most important to us and in the best interest of our family? What if we used this moment to take something OFF the list? What if we stopped our thoughts from "running around" and allowed ourselves to remember that perfection is impossible and we are doing the best we can with the tools we have in each moment?

Fighting the obvious by forcing ourselves to think we can be superheroes is energy we could be using to enjoy the moment exactly as it is. We can use that energy to remind ourselves of our intentions, our priorities and how we really want to show up in the world. No, it doesn't change the fact that we have much to do each day, but it does change the level of stress we feel and how we affect those around us.

So do yourself a favor, stop right now, and if possible, close your eyes and BREATHE. Three big ones through your nose and out through your mouth. Ahhh! So what will you take off your list?