Finally!  A lesson I’ve learned that’s universal enough to post!

I’ve been away for a while but that’s not to say I haven’t been learning.  I’ve just been learning a lot about myself and let me tell ya, those discoveries aren’t the easiest to convey to people who don’t live inside my brain.  All you need to know is I’m happy, I’m growing and evolving and life is wonderful.  And yes, more consistent posts are on their way for those of you that missed me.

So you’ve all been there, your head so full of things that need to be done that you can’t concentrate on any one thing.  I’ve found a solution that works for me and hopefully will work for you!

Lady Lesson #32: Drain your Brain.

I got the idea from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way.  In this book, she has the reader write daily Morning Pages.  The reader has to write every morning for 3 pages, whatever comes to mind.  It’s a brain dump.  The idea is that your creativity can’t flow if it is blocked behind all of the worries and stresses in your head.  Now I’ve tried it and I just can’t commit to three pages everyday.  It makes me angry, but I can commit to this simplified version of the same concept (not knocking the book at all, it’s a wonderful tool if you can stick with it.)  

When I wake up, I need a good hour or so to get in the zone.  I like to grab some tea if I have it, light some candles and incense, put on some mellow Pandora, and center myself.  I’ll stretch, meditate, maybe read or journal.  It’s quite lovely.  But some days or weeks or months are harder than others and my zen place is out of reach.  Where there should be quiet and appreciation, there’s a little voice saying “tell your roommate to clean the kitchen” or “cancel the massage membership you foolishly signed up for”, or “find a hotel for mom when she visits”, or “exercise”,  or “eat something”, or “clear your mind”.

All that noise makes inner quiet near impossible to attain.  It also keeps chattering in the background until I deal with it.  So I’ve learned to deal with it early before I drive myself crazy.  I meditate or relax for as long as I can and when the noise starts, I make a Stress Card.

A Stress Card is just an index card or the paper of your choice that I spit out all of my worries, fears and to do tasks.  I give it a silly title like “Tuesday Tankers” or “Wednesday Worries” or “Thursday Threateners” and I write everything down.  I give myself 5 minutes or one song to drain my brain of every thought that could distract me or stress me out.  Simple, one or two words, just so I know what I’m referring to.  Then I turn it over and forget about it.

On the back, I write a positive affirmation.  My favorite is “I take control of my stress”. And then I leave it alone.  I leave the card sitting on my desk, affirmation side up so I only see the calm and not the chaos of the other side.  When I’m ready to tackle a few of those stressors, I turn it over and address them one by one.  And I only do a few at a time throughout the day.  In doing so, I’ve learned that a lot of theses stressors are very manageable and can be resolved in less than 10 minutes.

By the end of the day, most are crossed off and wouldn’t you know it, I feel great! I rip up the card, letting go of the day’s stress, celebrating the things I accomplished and forgiving myself for the things I didn’t.  I go to sleep with a light heart and a quiet mind.  Perfection.

In the words of Frank Underwood, “Welcome Back”.

-Jadey Lady