Things are piling up – you are juggling work, home life, passion projects (maybe), bills, relationships, and anything else taking up space and time in your life. Some days you feel like a rockstar and glide through your obligations with energy and focus. On these days you tend to feel accomplished, fulfilled, and excited about the life you’re leading.
But some days everything weighs down on you with extra pressure. You feel extra sensitive to the little things that go wrong, or the random chore that you forgot you needed to complete. Stress heightens and you feel drained, worried, frustrated.
These feelings have the potential of dragging you down for the entire week, or heck, maybe month. You have little patience for yourself or others, you find yourself reacting in resistance (I’ll write more on that later), and you struggle to offer yourself self-compassion (again, more on that later).
If you are currently in a space like this, first, I want you to know you aren’t alone.
It is natural to ebb into periods of stress like this – it’s human and it’s an alert that things aren’t aligning in your life.
Your values and actions are out of balance. Your needs are not being fulfilled to some capacity. This stress is your mind and body’s way of saying, “Hey, let’s pause and get things back on track.” Which can be hard when it feels like everything on your plate is filling your time and draining your energy to the point that you just don’t have it in you to pause for a realignment.
Don’t worry, this is a process. Balance is not a point we reach and maintain, rather, it is a state that we must continuously navigate.
Let me offer a small step you can implement today to pause and work toward your balance. There is a lot of research out there that points to the benefits of journaling as a way to relieve stress, reduce anxiety, and re-prioritize. It’s a tool for grounding yourself, which is a necessary component of pausing to redirect toward balance.
I think you know where I’m headed, but my challenge for you is to grab a journal or piece of paper and something to write with. Now, move yourself to a place of limited distractions and plan to spend at least 15 minutes on this challenge. If you think you don’t have 15 minutes in your day to do this, I challenge you to commit and make that time.
When you’re in this space, take a deep breath. As you exhale, become aware of your body. Wiggle your toes and fingers. Lift your arms above your head and give a couple light kicks with your legs.
This isn’t woo-woo. Trust me. This is an intentional practice to help you be present.
Now, address this entry to yourself (“Dear…..”).
Write about everything that is currently stressing you out.
Write about your fears and frustrations. Write about your exhaustion and pressure. Write about whatever comes to mind – there is no right or wrong way to do this, and you don’t have to share this with anyone.
If you need a more specific prompt, start with:
“I am stressed because…”
When you are finished (take as much or as little time as you need, but make sure you reach a point that feels okay to stop), take a deep breath. Exhale and wiggle your toes and fingers. Stretch your arms and legs. Become present again in your here and now.
How does it feel to write this down – to get it out of your head and into a physical form?
This practice certainly won’t fix everything, but whenever you feel overwhelmed, come back to this activity and commit some time and space to articulate everything that’s building your stress. Use this as a way to get present with yourself. It will help you discover your next steps for regaining balance.
Come back to this letter in a couple days, or weeks, or months. Look back at what was causing stress then, and think about how it takes up space in your life now. Over time, a practice like this will help you build awareness of what is consistently taking your time and energy and stressing you out.
What is your experience with this challenge? I would love to hear from you!