It’s easy to allow what’s happening around you in the world, online, or among friends distract you to the point of feeling caught in the middle of chaos—feeling too focused on mind matters instead of heart matters. Mind matters are all of those things in your head which hold your attention, the negative words which hold you back and weigh you down, as well as the busy things which keep your head down and focused beyond distraction.
For instance, when conversations turn to intense debates, it can be a time to pause and give reflection to what’s in your own heart around this specific topic and what is best for you. Too commonly, people are neglecting their own self-care and allowing these numerous outside influences to dominate.
Today my desire is to equip you with some practices so when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can get centered and practice improved self-care with less stress.
Calming the Mind Matters
Your body feels intense stressors when you’re going at breakneck speed after things and also when the outside news of the world consumes much of your thoughts. It’s natural to tune into the news around you and want to be supportive of your friends as long as this is done with healthy boundaries. I speak often of establishing healthy boundaries because this is so important for your overall well-being.
A significant way to calm the outside stressors is to limit the chatter and information overload from the source—the television news, social media, and all the things bombarding you with information. It’s wise to participate in these outlets in small doses. Moderating the information stimulation will help you feel calmer.
Bolstering Your Heart Matters for Improved Self-Care
A key to keeping overwhelm in check is staying grounded in the matters of your heart. What does this mean? It’s referring to nurturing those areas of your life which lift you up, validate you, and allow you to slow down to be mindful of what’s happening around you.
Several ways to center your heart matter and practice improved self-care include:
- Taking time to mediate.
- Slowing down your breathing.
- Being intentional about connecting with those around you who are most important to you. Be present.
- Putting some distance between yourself and those things you find stressful while you create new habits and coping tools.
- Practicing mindfulness in whatever you’re doing.
An example of this mindfulness could be thinking back to the last meal you ate. Do you remember what was on your plate? Can you recall the portion size and placement of each food item on your plate? When you ate the food with the largest portion did you taste and think about the texture or did you eat it without considering if it was smooth, crunchy, or flavored with certain spices? Hmm. You may have eaten with distraction only to be surprised when the food has been consumed and the plate is empty.
Frequently, we eat without mindfulness. You may think that soup was so tasty during the first or second spoonful but if you’re eating while working at your desk, by the last spoonful you’ve probably been more focused on the work you’re doing than allowing your taste buds to pick out the nuisances of flavor playing across your tongue before each swallow.
I encourage you to slow down when it comes to matters of the heart and self-care.
Doing Things Differently
As you work on tapping into honoring your self more you will have more to give to others. You will be giving from a place of overflow instead of the bottom of the barrel. For more on this topic listen to my podcast episode Creating Stillness, Staying Present, and Turning Into Your Inner Wisdom with my guest Dr. Davina Kotulski.
If you’d like to connect with me for a one-on-one consultation reach out by clicking here.