As you all know, this year has been full of ups and downs for me. To give you more of an idea of what I mean, in March my husband and I decide to move in with my mother as our apartment lease was up. We were supposed to move to Alturas, California very soon after, but he was called for duty for the National Guard and our life was put on hold. So now we are left in one room for all four of us (my brother, his fiance, and his sister-in-law live in the other two rooms). And of course in the midst of it all, we are in a pandemic - with nowhere to take the kids to get out their energy, stuck in a house with way too many adults, and just so much going on all the time.
To say my mind is in a weird place would be an understatement. I haven't felt too productive lately. I've spent my mornings dragging myself out of bed to practice a little self care, and I've stayed up late worrying over things completely out of my control. Feeling like life likes to test my strength and patience to the max. Though I'm sure there are way worse things that could happen than what I've gone through. Yet I still feel a heavy weight on my shoulder that I'm just now starting to shake.
Which I know well enough happens to all of us - especially in the time were in right now. Every season brings upon new challenges. But the tricky part of it is to decide whether we are going to fight through it or let it knock us down completely.
And I've decided to push through it. I want to be able to feel like myself again. Knowing that means hitting that reset button on my mindset. Getting it into a calmer and more positive place even when I find myself overwhelmed and stressed out. Here's how I plan to do so...
Stay true to my routine.
If you've been following along, than you probably know how much I love my routines. But it's so easy to fall out of them once life gets hard or changes conflict them. When I don't try to stay true to my normal routine, I get way too lazy, start picking up bad habits, am exhausted, and start taking out more of my frustrations on my family. So I plan on having at least a morning routine is a priority in my life so that I continue to also be true to myself.
Refrain from too much social media.
We all know, especially as mothers, how social media can be depicted as this perfect highlight reel, always seeing peoples perfectly curated picture-perfect lives. Which often makes me feel worse about where I am at in my life. I also feel a certain amount of pressure with this blog to post on Instagram or Facebook every day to keep face with all of my followers, but the truth is - I just don't have time or energy to come up with anything every single day. So I plan on committing to 3-4 posts a week, only going on in the mornings after my routine, and briefly at night to help clear my headspace.
Utilize my alone time.
I definitely value my alone time especially being an introverted mother. But sometimes I don't spend it in the most effective ways. And I know that I need that solid alone time to feel like myself to be better for my family as a whole. So I plan to make the most of every minute by fully relaxing, writing in a journal, exercising, or anything to just relish in the act of being alone.
Pray.
I've just started taking back my spirituality through reading my bible (a few verses in a book each day), writing down how I interpret it, and praying. I feel for a long time out of it. But I know how much it effects my mental space positively and makes me feel connected to who I am. So I plan on staying on course with the plan I've laid out for daily bible reading within my morning routine.
Exercise more frequently.
I always feel like a better version of myself when I actually get my butt up to work out - even if it's only for 10-15 minutes. It helps me clear my head and feel accomplished. So I plan on writing in a workout schedule so that I can hold myself more accountable about working out on a daily basis.
Get back to reading more.
I'm a total book nerd - and a sucker for crime, horror, fiction, and romance novels. There's really nothing quite as magical as getting lost into a book - creating visuals of the characters and settings, encouraging your imagination to transform in new ways, and perfect antidote to anything going on in life. So I plan on picking up more books, getting back to my weekly book reviews to hold me accountable, and fully letting myself get lost within them in he process.
Write it out.
I've always grown up to be the person that wants to keep all of my thoughts, fears, and worries bottled up. But it has never benefit me in return. And ever since being my husband, I've gotten so much better at communicating. But writing has also been my guidance in having an emotional release. So I plan on writing a little more for myself (outside of the blog) to get all of the things out of my head and onto paper to give my brain and heart a chance to rest a little more.
Jam out to some music.
Music has also been a go-to move when I've struggled. Making me feel more at ease, understood, creative, inspired, less alone, energetic, and cathartic simultaneously. So I plan on throwing on that music loudly more often throughout the day to just get me in the right headspace - either letting it take my mind off of things or letting me actually feel my emotions fully in order to understand them better.
Ask for help.
I am the queen of never asking for help and always trying to do everything myself. Not just because I don't trust other to do a good job, but mostly because I feel like it's an inconvenience to request it. But I also know how much it can save me time and mental energy. So I plan on asking for the help - especially right now that I have all of the people around me to do it - more often and let go of the reigns so that their help can actually be beneficial.
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