The Daily Do

Rushing anxiously to wrap presents, organise parties and get that last minute toy we can all forget our intended result of the festive season is JOY. When doing too much makes you load the cart of needing appreciation, be aware of expectation and, it’s best future friend, deflation. Doing too much can counteract the heartfelt love you mean to give, don’t let your need to be appreciated block your greatest gift. No doubt we enjoy celebration more when we’ve worked hard and planned it well, but no loved one wants a martyr running rings around themselves.

Ideas half formed need acted on, anything else is simply stalling. If you really want to find your voice, start talking. Get your ideas out into reality, in their wondrous faulty form, and set to failing and failing again, and let this be your norm. Failing isn’t failing, it’s the tool of victory, the try, try and try again of thoughts into reality.

You’ll be amazed how much of overwhelm disappears with an action plan and the starting point of My Next Action is where you find the calm. Overwhelm is simply having too much on your mind, but it feels like armageddon with a way out hard to find. The way out is really simple, it’s a 3 step offload onto paper, do this and I guarantee you’ll wonder what the fuss was later.

“Just one conscious in and out breath and a different dimension is there in your life.” Eckhart Tolle extolling the benefits of awareness of present time. This focus is more than the breath itself, it’s a switch that flicks on presence, and presence brings huge benefits, opens the dimension of your essence. One deep breath felt flowing in, your lower lungs expanding, let out gently sitting on a bus or in an elevator standing.

Believing your best is enough applies to all of us through either struggles or success, each and every one in our own way put to the test. So what we are progressing through doesn’t alter how we do it, the daily measure of ourselves against ourselves alone cuts through it. This is true for all we do, in good times and in tough. You know what you can control, and it’s often only you…believe your best is enough today and let it show in what you do.

Everything you have right now you once yearned deeply for. Appreciation is a mighty viewpoint from which to look at life, it’s mindfulness and gratitude wrapped up and felt at the same time. Everything you have right now you once yearned deeply for, look love in the eyes and see what you saw before. Hold the hand of hope by holding what you once hoped for, realise you are here now before twisting to wanting more.

Don’t look outside at who is hurting you, look inside to why it hurts, how we are feeling says little about them and far more about us. When something stings and anger rises there is one hugely liberating thing to do, think not of what they’ve done but of why it’s stinging you. It takes strength and courage to look and then accept your tender spots, but you can change the heart that’s truly hurting with everything you’ve got. 

When staying the same bears too much pain you are primed for change. Desire tips towards the new from going round again. Real change comes when you need to, when the other option isn’t one, when you down the tools of groundhog day and finally say, “I’m done.” You stand in where you are right now as the captain of your soul, take the pain of staying the same and cast it overboard.

Who are you to you? Who do you think you are? What is your identity and does it help you to journey far, far into the possibilities beyond self doubt and fear? Who you see yourself as is how you will appear. Picture yourself as you know you are inside and this will be what you thrill to, rise to the image in your mind and be that best of you.

If a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately. This reduces stress more than adding to to do lists repeatedly. Our brains function best when focused clearly on one task, and if little jobs lie unfinished these open loops cause mental stress. Build the habit of immediate action on any under two minute tasks and you will build contentment whilst reducing your to do list.