Welcome back to my side of the internet, expect this time I have relocated to a different part of the states. Today I wanted to share a little personal story with this inquiry in mind… How do you manage life’s changes? The answer might not seem overwhelming, big, or impactful however as someone who is knee deep I have to say it is the most helpful!
Managing Stress or Anxiety
When life throws your a curve ball or even a pitch that you knew was coming it is normal to feel anxious. This uncertainty of not knowing can be overwhelming and exciting all at the same time. So how do you manage the stress or anxiety? You focus on the known…
If you are feeling anxious right now, take a moment to focus on your breath… Before you start I want you to repeat these words in your head as your breathe in and out. ” I know that air is moving in… I know that air is moving out…” Try it. Take three mindful breaths repeating these words in your head. Take a moment to notice how you feel. There still might be anxiety hanging around but for those three breaths everything settled for a moment.
Finding The Known
When your world feels unstable, it is important to come back to the known. Come back to the foundations, no matter how small they might seem. I know there is air flowing in and out of my noise as I breathe. I know that the sun feels warm on my skin. Participating in my morning yoga, meditation, and breath work makes me feel connected. Ice cold water tastes good. These are little facts that I lean on day in and day out to find stability when my universe seems unstable.
Acknowledging The Emotion
Another aspect that I want to take a moment to write about is acknowledging the emotion that is present, but doing it in a way that doesn’t “make” you that emotion. In today’s society we have a habit of saying I am an anxious person, I have so much anxiety… What you are telling yourself is you are anxiety. However, I am going to challenge you to acknowledge what emotion is present without identifying it as you.
For example, when I moved away from home to follow my husband who had been relocated for his job I could feel the anxiousness within my body. My anxiety tends to be present in my chest. I could feel it a lot when I first moved, and still feel it now. Rather than saying, I am so anxiousness, I have anxiety. I say, “wow, there is a lot of anxiety present right now.” I am acknowledging that it is there, what it feels like, but I am not allowing it to overtake me as a whole. I am not the emotion “anxiety”.
Coming Full Circle
Now that I have acknowledged that there is anxiety, stress, overwhelm present I go back to the foundations. What do I know? Life is often like the ocean, it moves, creates ripples, waves, unknowns, beautiful views, and calm seas. Where you can find the stability in the chaos? You find it in you. In the stillness that you create every single day… Not sure where to start? Start with your breath, it shows up for you every single day.
How to manage life’s changes is one of the most profound questions. The answer however is simple… you just have to make the choice to create the space to be still in the moment. To dive deeper into learning emotions I highly recommend watching Inside Out 2, this movie is a beautiful rendition of explaining that we are not our emotions. To tap into how to manage life’s big changes, head over to my Patreon wellness studio or reach out!
Thank you for reading this blog post on how to manage life’s changes, have a wonderful day.
xo, Han
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