I get it, laughing off the blues isn't the easiest thing. But sometimes, just forcing out a few hearty 'ha-ha-has' can stop that little nagging worry – the one that crept in just before sleep or upon waking – from snowballing into a full-blown storm of negativity.
Heading to work, I try to gear up with good vibes, but it's still a toss-up what kind of day I'll have until I'm out there, feeling the pulse of my thoughts and moods, and sensing the direction of the emotional winds. It's a roll of the dice, really. But now, I notice the difference in myself. I'm more switched on, more deliberate in tweaking my approach to shake off those slips before I'm swept away.
A few years back, I was just adrift in my own sea of worries and whatever my body's chemistry had in store for me. Waking up with a knot in my stomach or that ticking clock in my head saying I'm running out of time on a project – back then, my solution was a coffee and a 'keep calm and carry on' attitude. It worked, to a point, but running on that kind of anxious energy is like trying to fill your tank with fumes – it's not sustainable.
There comes a time when you've got to really look at how you're handling things and get precise with your efforts. Take this morning: I woke up on the wrong side of bed, a negative thought had already set up camp in my mind. I skipped my usual affirmations, tuned into the news, and just like that – an hour later, I felt like a mess. It's funny, considering just the day before, I was on cloud nine. Emotions are fickle, aren't they?
Despite the whirlwind, I'm staying active, staying ahead of the game. I get why someone would feel overwhelmed to the point of just staying in bed. It's a mix of bad habits, maybe, and other mental health hurdles that pile on top of regular anxiety. When it's bad, it's a struggle to even use my phone; I find myself forgetting the simplest things, like how to look up a number.
But having a good dialogue with myself about these kinds of days is really the game-changer. I can finally hear my internal narrative through meditation, breathing exercises, and, of course, writing. I don’t dare miss a single day of these practices—even if it’s just one minute of meditation, one minute of breathing, and one minute of writing. I benefit from doing just that small amount, whereas if I skip them entirely, I miss out on the benefits completely.