Heavy
Perceptions
I’m Over Overwhelmed
Being overwhelmed is a feeling I am all too familiar with. I am a planner by nature and those to-do lists seem to experience exponential growth in my hands. This can be a helpful trait, as it allows me to have many plates spinning at once without letting too many fall to floor. If fact, I can’t imagine not planning. For example, for a trip next weekend, I have to shop on Sunday, pack on Tuesday, and cook on Wednesday in order to leave on Friday. If I didn’t have my ducks in a row, we would either leave late or be hungry and naked the entire trip.
The problem is that I let my to-do list overwhelm me. I panic. I call myself a reverse procrastinator. I will push to get a task completed, but I do it at the beginning of the window of opportunity rather than at the end. To make things even worse, I always think the tasks will take more time than they actually do. I know this, yet I still believe my brain’s calculations and self-imposed time limits.
I’m over being overwhelmed. It’s wasted energy. Needless strife. Yes, life is full. It’s supposed to be.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, this article on Psych Central has some great tips. As for me, I am going to pack up my three outfits and two meals needed for a crazy school day, take a deep breath, and just be thankful for the peaceful commute in the autumn rain. I’ll leave the to-do list at home.
Taming the Monkey Mind: Misbehavin’ Monkey
My monkey has been misbehaving recently. It snuck up on me; I didn’t even realize it until he threw a tantrum last night. About unfolded clothes and unwashed dishes. Yeah, silly, I know. Talk to the monkey.
Once my monkey mind was talked down from his ledge, exercised, and soothed with incense and a good book, he was finally able to articulate to me what had him so frantic.
Things have been good.
Uhhmmm…what? Why freak out over that?
He explained that he is used to the status quo. Routine. The right amount of activity and rest. Social time and solitude. Mental work and physical effort. In other words, the monkey wants balance.
Makes sense.
We are all so aware of the imbalance and stress in our lives when things are rough. But we often are not as aware of the effect that good events can have on us. Just as when things go wrong, positive events in our lives (new relationships, new jobs or promotions, good news, working for and reaching goals) can also be difficult. It can catch us off guard because we are not anticipating its appearance. We may not find support from others because they simply see us riding high.
The problem is that we can get caught up in the ride and forget that our monkey mind has a bedtime and gets cranky when he’s overstimulated.
My monkey mind and I reached an arrangement. While things are crazy, I will make an effort to carve out even more time for meditation. I will again view runs as time for reflection or socialization instead of simply ticking away the miles until the marathon (3 more weeks!). I will focus more on the awesomeness of the weekends I have coming up rather than worrying about prepping and packing food (sometimes being a gluten free vegetarian just plain stinks!).
And if the dishes are bothering me, I will simply burn incense.
Taming the Monkey Mind – the beginning
If You Would, Please
If you have read my book, please consider writing a review on either Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Many of you have shared your thoughts with me privately. I have loved hearing about what you gained from the book and I know that others would also benefit from hearing your response. Reviews, especially for unknown and self-published authors, are hugely important as they help to increase the visibility and legitimacy of a new book. A huge thank you to all of you for all your support! I very much appreciate it!
Oh, and if you haven’t read it, what are you waiting for? :)P
Lessons From the End of a Marriage 