Pondering Thoughts

Pondering Thoughts

Whenever I get to a stressed level in my life - you know, when you have a permanent frown inside even though you may appear alright to the world... Well, when that happens, I find myself recalling some of the best advice gleaned from a lifetime of encounters with people who knew better than I (which is a lot - ha ha) and I wanted to share some of those bits of advice in this mini-series of posts I'm releasing every 10 or 11 days or so titled: Pondering Thoughts.

So the first was "Start How You Mean To Continue", followed by "Doing It Right The First Time" and then a small piece about "Patience With The Process", followed by "Listen To Others" and then I shared some thoughts on "living without a crutch; feeling the fear and doing it anyway". 

...and today (probably the last article in this mini-series) we'll look at: Getting Out of a Rut

Have you noticed that a lot of what we've shared in this series has to do with eliminating unwanted habits and creating new desirable habits instead? Well, today's post is along this same line too... 

Ok so here's Jannette (not a real person). She's depressed. Tired. Angry. Sometimes she feels like doesn't have the energy to breathe. A lot has happened to Jannette and I'm sure we'd all agree if we heard her whole dramatic life story we'd agree that life's been tough. She's had her share of bruises to be sure. 

She's read books, gotten therapy, has good friends, heard the usual advice, puts on her smile when necessary and does what she has to do. But inside, she's feeling really low. She doesn't like her job. She has a long list of regrets and "should-have's" and has lots of wishes too. 

...Sound familiar?  Ok - so here's what we all have to do when we are in any kind of life rut. 

We have to get out of our head. Get out of that rut. Change our circle of friends and our habitual behaviours. Much of the advice we've given out so far in this "pondering thoughts" series will walk you through the process. But today I want to talk about breaking the cycle. 

This might involve setting the alarm an hour early - using that time to pamper yourself, do some yoga, read the book you've been meaning to get to, start taking one of those open-ed online courses in the genres that interest you. Choose something different each extra morning hour... so you don't get bored and start skipping things. Try using a scheduler or calendar program that tells you when you have things planned - so you don't forget.  

In the evening - instead of watching TV all night, try turning on some positive online radio show program where you can choose archived audio broadcasts on topics that are uplifting and interest you. Another night - try out a few different online music radio channels (i.e. via itunes radio); something you wouldn't normally listen to - and enjoy that as background noise instead of the TV. Put some music on that doesn't have lyrics so that you can read the book you're working on or do some stretch routine to loosen up that desk-chair back of yours. 

Reach out to your circle of friends, former and those today too, and write a short note to them letting them know how much they mean to you and give an example of an experience you recall with them - one where your respect for them grew or where you learned from them. Just a short note - you don't have to get all gushy. Try doing the same thing once a week or twice a week - just one or two people in your friends list, then office friends list, then family, neighbours, etc. That simple act has a huge impact on the people around you. It really does brighten their day. They feel better about themselves and they appreciate your thoughtfulness. 

Join a conference, speaking event or membership group or charity near you. Try something different once a month like this - where you have to go out and do something, attend something or volunteer somewhere.

Volunteering, in fact, releases all kinds of feel good hormones, it releases you from your depression, you realize that you can have an enormous impact and that you really do matter. Even people who like to be by themselves can volunteer. There are tonnes of places online you can join up with their various campaigns. Lots of charities need help with their website, mailing lists, article writing and more.

...I'm not sure if this is the last article in this series but at the moment I'm out of ideas. When one strikes me, I'll drop in again with another pondering thought. I hope you've enjoyed this series. :)

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