TINY HABITS are simple practices you can add to things that you are already doing – such as drinking water or buckling your seatbelt. The more you practice, the more you will experience the benefits. Practices like this have been shown to be 100% effective – if you do them!
Got Overwhelm?
Overwhelm is a repercussion of our inhumanely fast-moving lives and one of the by-products of being sensitive… Though we may not all identify ourselves as sensitive, it is a vital and essential aspect of being human. In our modern times we have developed socially accepted strategies to mask our sensitivities – the very thing that makes us highly attuned and connected creatures.
What to do and how to cope?
Most of us have one or two “go-to” ways of dealing with overwhelm.
Leaving the room is a big one… Stressed? Yes, oops off on a mini vacation to space… it can be a long way back and may scare your people. “Disappearances” don’t tend to work well in relationships – whether it’s personal, professional, or random. These are all potentially meaningful connections and we are all hungry for more connection.
OR
Reacting – maybe better described as heel digging – is slowing things down as a reaction to outer movements or in an attempt to gain control where it has been lost. Stressed? Yes, I’ll just leave treadmarks on the highway of Life (and rip my sneakers and feet to shreds in the process). In this case REACTION rather than RESPONSE is the operative action – of course slowing down can also be an intelligent response to chaos… so, as always, discernment is required every step of the way.
Here is a TINY HABIT for whatever your “go-to” strategy is:
Reminder to self: SETTLE DOWN
1. Take some breaths – one hand on belly, one hand on heart (optional).
2. Recognize the gentle downward force we call gravity.
3. Find your feet, connect them to the earth below you… stay right here.
Give this 30 seconds of your time several times a day. Making this a regular practice will offer you a stable and consistent place to lean into any time. This practice invites us to inhabit our bodies and take our place – right here where we are. This is mindfulness – the simple tool for returning to right here – the only place you ever really are…
To learn more Tiny Habits, read more of Lexi’s writings, or learn about her offerings go to alexisalma.com or call 541-631-9456.
