Have you ever rushed from one thing to the next, frenetically cramming too many things into your day, only to then wonder what it was all really for? Did it leave you basking only briefly in that adrenalin high of the rush because shortly after you felt a big low with an accompanying feeling of unexplained emptiness inside of you?
One of the things that will help you to slow down in the first place is to calm down the pace that your thoughts are going at and to begin to change the type of thoughts you are having.
Dr Joe Dispenza, author of many books such as Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself and Evolve Your Brain explains that
“You think somewhere between 60,000-70,000 thoughts in one day, and 90% of those thoughts are exactly the same ones we had the day before. You can’t change your life until you change your thoughts.”
I encourage you to consider some of these ideas below with firstly creating a conscious intention that you are going to slow yourself down today and in coming days and weeks. Let your thoughts be the catalyst that begins this change.
These 7 simple tweaks below will help you to begin to create new habitual thoughts around the pace that you live your life at. Start with one of them or all of them, do whatever feels good. The secret is allowing the simple tweak to stick over time.
1. Arrive at appointments 15 minutes early. Let yourself just sit and breathe, do nothing with this extra time. Interestingly, I have heard the Dalai Lama asked about how he stays so calm, and he has explained that he always arrives at appointments one hour early!
2. Create 5 minutes of space between activities and simply be still.
3. Do 2 minutes of a calm yoga breathing technique.
Block off your right nostril with your thumb and leave your other fingers pointing upwards.
Breathe calmly through your left nostril for a maximum of 26 breaths or 2 minutes.
4. Turn off technology an hour before sleep.
Technology close to sleep time disrupts your body’s circadian rhythms, disturbing the quality and quantity of your sleep.
5. Before you get up off the toilet, take 2 slow, calm breaths.
Yes, it may sound a bit weird 🙂 but it’s all in the name of slowing down at all kinds of opportunities during the day.
6. Before and after you scroll through social media, take 2 slow, calm breaths.
At first you will likely forget, but keep at it, put a reminder for yourself somewhere.
7. While you are doing a task such as cooking, using the computer, talking on the phone; take a moment to consciously relax your entire body. For a few breaths, focus on letting every part of your body relax, and then carry on with what you’re doing in this more relaxed state.
Keep this process of creating changes simple. It’s not about adding a long list of new things to do (especially while you are recovering your health), it’s about making small changes that you feel you can stick with over time.
What are you going to change today?
Lisa.
