Peace of Mind

You shared on the survey that you wanted more posts about wellness. So wanted to share a few resources that may be helpful to find peace of mind.

My mind is usually racing a million miles a minute so it’s really hard for me to get calm. I usually clear my mind and lessen anxiety by exercising. The best time for me is in the morning so I tend to wake up early (5amish) and get in a work out. It allows me to start my day fresh. Which also means that I tend to go to sleep around 10:30pm. Getting good sleep is critical for me to feeling my best. There are days when that definitely doesn’t happen. I listen to my body and give myself space to not feel guilty about doing a less strenuous workout or get more sleep. Lately, I’ve been staying up late and waking up closer to 6:30am. I usually like to be out of the door for a run by 7am.

If exercise isn’t your speed, studies have shown that meditation can provide healthy benefits to your mind & body. My friend, yoga teacher and writer, Kelly DiNardo writes about the 4 Popular Types of Meditation in a recent post for MarthaStewart.com. I’m going to try each of them to see if it can help bring more calmness to my life. I’m also a paid subscriber to the Calm app. There are times when I can’t get to sleep so I’ve used the story telling feature to basically have a soothing voice tell me a story. There has only been one time where I haven’t fallen asleep before the ending. Essence Magazine also recently shared a list of apps that are free if you’re feeling anxious.

I’m an introvert so I enjoy being alone or in small group settings with close friends. This quarantine time suits my nature although I’m anxious about more professional related things than being physically distant from people. As a result, it means I’m in my head a lot. So to step outside of myself, I think of how I can be helpful to others or remind people that I’m thinking of them. I write notes (something I’ve been known to do prior to the quarantine and even more needed now) and I make little electronic note cards to send out to friends without any expectation that they email me back in return. I’m engaging with people in a way that is comfortable for me as an introvert. I am most definitely the person who looks to see whose calling me and most definitely not picking up my phone. If you need people to gain energy, then dial into those zoom happy hours and soak up all that people time. It’s not as good as being around people physically in a human connection so I know that extroverts are feeling anxiety more acutely.

I’ve also noticed that I’m spending way too much time on my phone. My weekly screen time has soared so it’s a little disconcerting when my weekly report shows up. I’ve chosen to ignore it. So I’m just going to spend more time looking at a different screen (j/k but also serious!). What I mean is that I’m using my laptop for zooms/video chats so that I can connect with friends & family and using my mini iPad to read the multitude of books I’ve ordered.

There was a piece written by former first lady Michelle Obama’s head speechwriter, Sarah Hurvitz about How to Show ‘LovingKindness’ Despite Social Distancing and it perfectly encapsulates how I feel about the current health situation. Showing up to give support without really knowing what I’m doing myself. In my opinion, it’s a perfect example of being vulnerable while also being strong for someone else.

One thing that has helped to distract me is Instagram. Whether it’s because I’m looking at creative people’s work or inspiring me to dream of something positive in the future, I’ve been lurking more on that platform to give my mind a break. The current environment has shaken up how we prioritize what we do and who we do it with. Now more than ever, our mental health needs to be a priority. Life as we know it has changed and we don’t know when it will return to “normal”. As a person who hasn’t given zero F*cks in a really long time, I usually don’t have FOMO. This has helped me a great deal in putting what I need first. This is a guilt/judge free zone. No one is going to make me feel guilty for not being productive nor will I judge myself for not doing as much as I would like. Sometimes I’m more annoyed that I didn’t take the nap over the weekend. Since I’m a goal driven person, the only thing that I want to accomplish by the time this is done is to come out the other side healthy and keeping my work team sane. This is certainly not a stay-cation and having a plan to be more productive. Throw those metrics out the window and focus on the immediate goal to arrive.

I hope that you’re not going stir crazy. I’ll keep sharing more wellness ideas so that we can get through this together! As always, feel free to share ways that help you in the comments section.

MXM