As miserable as it sounds, sometimes our problems give us comfort, our dramas fill in gaps and our negative self-talk becomes like a familiar old mate. Worry and stress can become the norm. While none of this serves any positive purpose in our lives it can feel hard to let go of a sensation or ongoing habit that gives us energy and power.
The merry go round of mind chatter and the heavy weight of stress does little more than hold us back, cause blockages and ultimately disease in our lives. So how do we let go and move forward?
Here are some actions to unwind the tangle and dance forward with freedom:
Doodle. Yes pick up a pencil and scribble out your frustrations, let out your stress and bring in calm with each stroke of the pen. Call it art therapy if you will but the next time you find stressful or painful thoughts overcoming you try picking up your favourite colour.
Change something. Anything. Change the flowers in your office, the nasty thought you just had about yourself, the Feng shui of your bedroom, your phone number (if need be), the amount of money you spend on pizza each week, how you get to work, where you go on weekends, who you hang out with, how you speak to your partner, the expectations that you put on yourself and others…. oh this list could go on and on and on. You get the picture.
Back up your bucket. Create a reverse bucket list, write down all the things you have accomplished or good vibes your have felt in the last hour/today/this week/month/lifetime. Instead of fixating on the future and any potential obstacles in your way why not celebrate the past and feel good about your achievements. You have come so far and done so much, this is only the beginning.
Dance. Go on, really get your Footloose on. Play radio roulette (or Spotify if you are feeling fancy), whatever song comes on, turn it up and burn it up…the dance floor that is. Bonus points if a hula hoop, a costume piece or lip synching is involved in some way.
Act it out. That thought that you are playing over and over, the imaginary encounter, the way your self talk just put you down, the worry that you have about that thing in the future that hasn’t even occurred yet; role play it. Say it out loud. Set it free outside of your body and thoughts. Give it a voice that brings it to the present and makes you more conscious of the words and feelings you say to yourself. If you wouldn’t say them to someone else, then why say them to yourself?
Burn it. Write down your problems and causes of stress on small pieces of paper, then burn them. Carefully. This may not make all the darkness disappear but it with bring ritual to releasing the emotions built up around the problems.
Pinkie promise. Make a decision to release, a commitment to let go. It is you that is carrying the heaviness and you that can make the call to be responsible for the letting go.
Strike a pose. There’s nothing to it. Try some effective Kundalini yoga poses to sweep out the old and in with the vibrant, new energy.
Something new. Dive into a new skill or hobby to bring all the wonders of being a beginner into your life.
Channel. Take the power of the negative feelings, worry and doubt that you are churning in your body and use it for the forces of good. Funnel the energy into a focussed intention on goodness, light, miracles and fun.
Sparkle vision. Visualise an empowered, activated, joyous, content, balanced, stress-free YOU. Do this often, daily in fact. Make it your mission to outweigh the negative imaginings with the positive ones. this takes practice. Commit now
Get real. Try catching your emotions as they arise and replace them with the cold hard facts of your life. The next time you catch yourself feeling “I can never get that job promotion, I am not good enough” replace that emotion with something factual in your life that is happening right now “I met three new people today and caught the new train home” The facts represent living in the present and they don’t have negative emotions attached to them. Recalling the facts shifts your perspective to NOW – the only moment there is.
Make a mantra. Spend some time writing and remembering a mantra or song you can sing to yourself when the stress takes over. Keep it positive and high vibes, it could be a poem or a prayer. Store it in your memory bank and hit play every time thoughts get heavy.
Sweat it out. Let the darkness drip from your skin. Sounds kind of evil but will create heavenly outcomes. When we active the body and move it into detox mode we are wringing out more than just the extra chocolate bar we ate. Getting sweaty releases endorphins and those chemicals naturally numb the pain.
Delete button. It is not always possible to simply erase problems and stress; if only that button existed. But it is essential to remember you have options. Change it, accept it or erase it.
How do you let go of heaviness, habits or anything that is holding you back?
As important preparation for the 40 Days of Flow starting June 1, make a mental or physical list of the hooks in your life that you are ready to let go of.
