- Filter out what you can’t control, from what you CAN – Your worry won’t change anything but your hope, presence, decisions and practical solutions to your daily problems will make life easier and more pleasurable. Try writing your hypothetical worries, or the ones you can’t control on pieces of paper that you put in a ‘God Can’ and leave them to a higher power! This will allow you to focus on the things that you can make a positive and more powerful impact on.
- Remind yourself that Change is inevitable – and change is growth, no matter what the outcome. See the positive it brings over and above the discomfort. It is only uncomfortable because it’s different and new. It will become more comfortable the more you accept it and invite it in. Trust that your journey will unfold however it is meant to.
- Trust your own intuition – Listen more closely and start distinguishing the whispers and little tugs at your heart over the bold inner critic that distracts you and draws you away. Pay attention to this particularly when you are first told about something that requires your action. What is your gut telling and what is your head telling you? Your mean voice will often be using words like ‘should’ and ‘expected’ and ‘what will they think?’ and will have you feeling a whole mixture of uncertainties and anxiety. Your gut will often be far more direct and sure and grounded.
- Replace your old thoughts about yourself:
‘I can’t’ – to ‘I can and I will’
‘They think I can’t’ – to ‘I know I can’
‘I’m being selfish’ – to ‘I’m taking care of myself’
‘If I say no, I’ll let them down’ – to ‘I can say no and they will find another solution’
‘I don’t have the resources to do that’ – to ‘I know there is a way’
‘I ‘should’ be doing that’ – to ‘I could be doing that, but it’s not a requirement’. - Practise daily gratitude. Reflect on how life has served you so far, what you have learned and how that has strengthened you. Think about your joys, big and small and what you are truly grateful for day to day. You might want to keep a daily gratitude journal and build it into your daily routine. It’s a lovely way to end your day and go to sleep with those thoughts.
- Be mindful. Paying attention to the present moment isn’t as easy as it sounds in the world that we live in. Being mindful is about slowing down and being aware of your thoughts and feelings moment to moment. You may not feel comfortable at first and feel that it’s not productive – but being still and focusing on your senses helps you to come further into your heart, body and soul – and really listen to what you need.
