There are days I feel like pulling my hair out. We all have them.
Mine tends to come from some sort of combination of homework battles, business deadlines meeting life commitment deadlines, a stuffed schedule, and an email inbox having 1000 some odd emails with maybe 100 of them that needed some sort of response. 2 weeks ago. Ugh.
Sometimes it all just piles up.
I daydream of leaving… packing a bag and heading to a little home in the middle of nowhere with no kids or homework, no commitments, dinner, laundry or emails. Then I wake up. I’m here and I have to figure out how to calm the heck down.
I know I’m not alone here.
Life can just get to be too much. Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense. There might be some days your schedule isn’t that stuffed but you feel like you’re on the edge and any moment you might just fall apart. Other days you may feel like you are moving so fast, you’ve lost your center, you’ve lost what matters.
Here are 3 ways to keep your hair (and your center):
Calm Down by Slowing Down
This is where I get all Zen on you. That’s right… Breathing. Many spiritual traditions know the power of the breath. They have different ways to breathe to focus, to calm down, to energize, to let go… Just because you spend most of your time breathing unconsciously doesn’t mean you should. Seriously just taking 3 deep breaths makes things better. You’re flooding your body with oxygen, detoxifying through your exhale, and focusing on something besides what’s driving you bonkers.
Wide Open Spaces
I love me some nature. When I had my first baby, my friend Lindsay gave me a book about a giant tree and on the back she wrote a note that said when things got to be too much, go outside. When my baby was crying non-stop, by getting outside of the house and walking around, things would shift.
A couple years ago I decided to start taking care of myself. I started an early morning walking routine. I’d wake up at 5am when it was still dark, set an intention and walk around reaching the top of a hill just in time for sunrise. This was my routine for over a year. I’d walk looking at the stars, trees, birds, and listen to the sounds around me. I’d watch the sunrise, then listen to an interview series or podcast on the way home. After this year I had flushed out my dream, found my center again, and lost 30 pounds. The power of nature.
Dance Your Brains Out
Sometimes you don’t need to slow down. You need to move that energy THROUGH. I mean dance it out. If I’m feeling wound up, I’ll throw on a high energy piece of music and let myself dance the chaos. If I’m feeling grief, I’ll put on a piece that stirs my soul and will let my emotions free. For those 5 minutes I don’t have to hold it together. I get to totally let go, let my body take over and trust the wisdom there.
So what do you do when you’re feeling like you’re gonna pull your hair out? Leave me a comment below. Let’s trade ideas and save some hair.
