Let’s face it: life is busy. In my last blog, I mentioned how, between everything else going on in my life, I felt like I was constantly running on autopilot. I’ve been slacking on taking the time to prioritize mindfulness. I’m not talking about the perfect, calming, all-zen version of mindfulness that we see on Instagram or TikTok; I mean the real thing. The kind where you simply slow down and find time throughout the busy day to be still and present instead of rushing through every task that needs to be done. Then, finishing those tasks and instantly begin thinking about the following million things that still need to be done.
It has made me realize that practicing mindfulness is easy for me when I have lots of time to fit it into my days… For example, when I first started this learning project, I was subbing whenever I wanted to pick up days that worked with my schedule. Sometimes, I didn’t sub at all or only subbed in the afternoons. I found it easy to practice mindfulness and slow down on those days. However, recently, I have been subbing more and just got a 3-week sub gig at a school where I am teaching full time, and I now have less time to block out time just for mindfulness… I have found that I just slowly continued to brush off being mindful. My mind was dialled into work and school, and nothing else seemed important enough to focus on.
This leads me to where I am now! I am reconnecting myself with mindfulness. In all honesty, where I am right now is the perfect example of why I chose this topic in the first place. I wanted to learn how to be mindful not just when it is easy but also when it is hard. Even when I feel like a chicken with my head cut off, lol (that is how I currently feel). This has been an eye-opening part of my journey because if you were to ask me earlier how I felt it has been going, I would have said, great! I think I am present frequently during the days, and I take time to slow down. It’s all good! But now, I know that slowing down and being present is difficult for me during high-stress times, as it is for most people. It has inspired me to prioritize being present and grounding myself when I notice my mind beginning to race. Often, when I allow myself to slow down, I realize that everything is okay and that I have time to finish the things that I need to get done. I have also realized that it takes the enjoyment out of things when I spend the entire time stressing about what is next.
Here are a few things that I have done to try and help me throughout this busy stage:
- I have been using Headspace first thing in the morning
- I have been focusing on deep breaths when I feel a sense of overwhelm while acknowledging the thought but letting it pass by. (this has been HARD)
- Taking breaks and doing things for me that I enjoy (watching Gilmore Girls currently or going for a walk)
Here is what I want to try next:
- Keeping a small notepad with me and doing brain dumps whenever I feel overwhelmed or like I have 10 million thoughts in my brain. I will just write them down and then move on, hopefully. This might help with #2 from above.
- Using Headspace at night before bed
This is how I hope to feel on the inside for the upcoming week:
