In a world where stress seems inevitable, the author advocates that it is optional. Society’s expectations can lead to a disconnection from our true selves, causing tension and anxiety. By reconnecting with our essential selves, healing from trauma, and silencing our inner critic, we can opt out of stress and find peace.
Finding Peace: Silence Your Inner Critic, Embrace Calm, and Let Go of Stress Read More »
The post emphasizes overcoming fear to pursue dreams and offers mindfulness activities to help. The author shares their personal journey and encourages trying these activities for 30 days. The activities are categorized in 4-week program, aiming to develop awareness and integrate mindfulness. The author invites feedback and encourages sharing.
Ok so let me begin with an apology. I told you on April 17, that I would introduce you to the rest of the committee in my head the following week. Well what had happened was…(just kidding). What happened was that my brain is healing which means there are times when I have to rest more than usual. In the last three weeks I have had to rest and stay off screens more and that means I had to deprioritize my blog. So I did. Thankfully, I am feeling better and I am back. So onward we go. Here is part two of the committee in my head. Grab your favorite beverage or snack and let’s chat. In addition to my protective posse that I shared with you back in April, I also have a group of thrivers that reside in my head. They help to pull me back from the edge when I follow one of the protectors down a rabbit hole. They help me to restore my peace when I experience an unexpected disruption. They quite frankly help me to be the best version of myself. When they are in the driver’s seat I am less judgmental of me and others, and that is always a good thing. Let me introduce you to them. That is it. That is the committee in my head. At any given moment of my day, I could be trying to calm one of the protectors down, so that a thriver could take first position. It takes practice to keep the protectors calm, but it is worth it. I didn’t enjoy always feeling annoyed, exhausted, afraid, or like a victim. I enjoy my day so much more and I feel centered when the thrivers are in control. There was a time when I felt like there was a hole in my soul that I could not fill, but leaning into my curiosity, grace, passion, purpose and creativity I have gotten that hole to shrink. It isn’t gone yet. It takes work. Leaning into my thrivers has shifted my focus from what I have acquired, or earned, or about other peoples’ recognition. My focus now is on my joy and on making sure that I leave others better than I found them. It takes work though, daily work, and honestly sometimes minute by minute work. But the payoff is worth it. At the end of the day I am no longer replaying interactions either ashamed of the way I thoroughly destroyed someone with my words, or feeling like I was victimized. I am in control now and in a way that allows me to be proud of who I am, while making space for other people to be authentic. So there, I have bared my soul to you in the hopes that this frees you in some way. Chocolate serenity for me is about a mindset of peace, liberation and joy. There is so much that women, especially women of color, are socialized and traumatized into enduring that simply waking up can leave us feeling weighted down. Whether what weighs us down is familiar or genuinely unique to each of us, there are ways that we can put them down. We just don’t always know how. For me, this is what helps. If you think this can help someone else, please share it with them. The goal is for us all to get to our version of chocolate serenity. Don’t forget to like and/or subscribe, and follow me on Instagram. And if you know someone who needs help finding their own peace I am happy to offer a complimentary coaching session. Have a great day.
Committee in My Head (cont’d.) Read More »
A few weeks ago I shared with you that my bike accident had caused me to make some unforeseen changes to my life. One of them was acknowledging the Committee in My Head. The other was a life change forced on me by the limitations of my brain’s ability to function. Since March, I have been forced to slow down. At first I wasn’t very good at it. In fact I tried to do some of the things that the doctors explicitly told me not to do, and my body checked me. HARD. And instead of making the progress I could have made, I regressed. So I finally listened and started scaling back. And I fell deeply and madly in love with peace. I thought that I liked peace before this, but it was nothing compared to the relationship peace and I have now. It has completely changed my life in ways that I would not have imagined eight weeks ago. I started by moving slower. At first it was because I had to, but then I realized that without the distractions of television and social media, I was able to move slower and get every thing done. So I continue to move slow and limit my screen time even though my headaches have reduced drastically. Without screens I found time to plant a garden on my balcony. I don’t know anything about plants, and prior to March I was not about sticking my hands in dirt. To be fair I wear gloves to play in my garden, but I am learning and the plants are growing. Except for my orchid which is really not acclimating well. And it is really nice to see the flowers go from buds to blooms. I have started meditating. Nothing fancy with chants or bowls. Simple guided meditations that I find on Apple or on Alexa. But I take breaks several times a day and do a few minutes of a guided meditation. It has done wonders for my mood and reduces my stress. Which makes me a more pleasant person in general. I have become more intentional about my rest. Prior to clunking myself on the sidewalk I was not a napper. Now, when my body asks for rest, I comply. It is a luxury I have because I work from home, and I don’t have little ones. But I have become a napper, and I love it. I wake up feeling refreshed and lighter overall. There is something about pushing through things when I am tired that makes me feel burdened in a way that my body refuses to comply with lately. I have also become a strong advocate for myself. I still can’t ride in the car with my eyes open or be in bright lights for prolonged periods of time. So when I have to say no to an activity, I do with no explanations. Prior to going a couple rounds with the sidewalk I would have felt guilty about prioritizing me, and tried to rationalize it in my own brain. Now a simple no thank you is all I feel compelled to share. And guess what? The world kept turning and everyone was fine even though I didn’t rush, or push myself beyond my limits, or take on more than I wanted to. Nothing fell apart. Not one thing. Things got done a bit more slowly. But they got done. People had to step up in ways they hadn’t before. And they stepped up. I had to adjust how I moved through the day. And I adjusted. Crashing into a sidewalk turned into a gift for me. Although I wouldn’t recommend that, I would recommend re-evaluating how you are spending your time. Are there things you can say no to or delegate so that you could get some time back to rest? Are there ways that you can slow down and incorporate some wellness into your daily schedule? Are there some ways that you can adjust your life so that you can do more of what feeds your soul? I hear so many people talk about rest, but as a friend pointed out to me recently, “The people who talk about it are not leading by example.”. But the thing is rest is so important to optimal functioning that my challenge to us is let’s not just talk about it. Let’s start actually making time to rest. So many of us wait until an illness causes us to pause. I honestly wish I had come to this realization in a less painful way, but I will take the lesson. Life is entirely too short to spend it tired. Take some time to rest in whatever ways you find rejuvenation. I am not here to judge, just to plead with all of us to slow down, get some rest, and prioritize good health habits daily.
Crashing Into Peace Read More »