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There’s nothing quite like that feeling of arriving home after a long trip away. To see the familiar furniture, smell the familiar smells, and feel the familiar feelings is like a warm hug after coming in from the cold. I love arriving home.
The thing I didn’t expect when I arrived home last week was feeling an almost immediate sense of overwhelm. We had a wonderful trip to visit family over the holidays and spent a ton of time glomming around in a group of 20. But as soon as we arrived home, I felt like a tsunami hit me reminding me of all the things I have to get done to get the kids back to school and myself back to work the following week.
My list of things to do came rushing back: make a dentist appointment, find my bloodwork requisition, pay the bills, unpack and do laundry and get my son ready for his first Bonspiel. (I am fortunate that all of these things don’t fall on my list exclusively as my husband, Robby, will get a bunch of these things done as well.) And the biggest feeling of overwhelm came when thinking about the hundreds of emails I would have waiting for me along with the huge task list at work of urgent items.
As I sat in these feelings of overwhelm, I thought to myself: ‘This is not how I want to feel about my life when I arrive home. I want to feel happy and grateful – not overwhelmed.”
So on that note, here are three reminders (as much for me as they are for all of you) to face the new year with a helpful, proactive mindset:
1) Treat yourself to something you enjoy.
Carve out time for yourself to do something you enjoy. This might mean arranging for a lunch or coffee with a friend. It could be making time to have a hot bath (ideally alone for all those parents out there who don’t often have any time to yourselves). It could be curling up under a cozy blanket with a book to read. It could be immersing yourself in a creative project.
As I write this post, I’m treating myself to a Chai latte and that is something I definitely enjoy. So in the bustling transition of getting back to your everyday life, find something to do for yourself this week and savour every moment of it.
2) Breathe.
On busy days at work, I sometimes find that only on the streetcar home do I remember to take a deep breath. So the second tip is to make breathing a priority [check out this great video about the importance of breathing]. Here are three ways to create time and space to breathe:
- Download a meditation app (I use calm.com) and prioritize meditating for at least 10 minutes each day.
- Create a simple reminder in your phone to take 10 deep breaths at different intervals throughout your day.
- Concentrate on breathing deliberately at consistent times each day (i.e. walking to and from work, riding on the bus or upon waking or lying in bed to fall asleep).
Creating time and space to breathe is also a great way to practice mindfulness throughout your day. It brings you to the present moment and enables you to let go of all the things on your to-do list for a little while. This not only reduces stress and anxiety, it also opens your mind up to creativity.
3) Find or create positive affirmations.
To tackle any challenge – including overwhelm – positive affirmations can be very helpful. One of my favourite affirmations is one that my sister Rachel gave to me when I was at the height of my overwhelming fatigue: “I do my best and my best is good enough.” This seems like a great time to reinvigorate that affirmation and add it back into my repertoire.
I also have an affirmation that I have shared before that I used in all my athletic competitions and at any time I feel like I need a boost in confidence: “I am strong. I am confident. I can do this.” This affirmation is a great one to use any time so I am going to rely on it to help me through this transition.
Finally, adding in a positive affirmation that helps create conditions for success is very helpful: “This is going to be my best year yet.”
If you, like me, are feeling a bit overwhelmed at this time of year, consider trying out the three tips above to help you through the next few weeks. Because you know what? This IS going to be your best year yet!
We would love to hear from you in the comments below.
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Excellent reminders. I read about a couple of de-stressors in the latest “Runner’s World”. Here are a few I especially liked. Visualize like a Badass–imagine you have just unlocked an escape room door or imagine yourself in your own personal happy place; Recall a De-Stress Success–similar to your “I am strong” mantra; and Drink a glass of water–too often people are dehydrated and don’t know it!! Thanks for the tips, Kirsten.
I love these tips – recreating that feeling when you actually achieved something momentous or were able to calm yourself down after a stressful event is really good. I also love the reminder about drinking water – most of us, including myself, do not do this enough! THanks for sharing these tips!