Lately, everyone I speak with is feeling overwhelmed by business. I can also admit that I have been in the busy madness of late and have been missing some of my regular self-care/mindfulness activities. It is so easy to get consumed in work, study, friends/family and our relationships that we forget about ourselves. It tends to feel like someone has put our own internal space ships on hyperdrive or we are continually on boost. So where does it stop? where does it end?

Well, that is easy. you don’t need a crystal ball to work this one out. If you are anything like me, it ends in a whole lot of tears and the consumption of a bottle of wine. Or it ends in sickness- yes, that is your bodies emergency break function. In amongst this madness, we get tasky, vulnerable, sensitive and frustrated. The small things get to us. We are irritated and ultimately defeating ourselves. We don’t seem to feel as happy as we normally are about the small beautiful things around us… why? Because we are missing them! We are so focused on everything we have to do, all the people we need to see, the many things we have forgotten; we miss all the beauty and happiness around us.

So how do we avoid all this? How can we minimise the catastrophic breakdown that is scheduled to occur as a result of our busy lives?

Let’s begin with mindfulness.

Mindfulness has become a hot topic over the last few years as our lives get busier and busier. Many successful people practice mindfulness daily. Monks do it. Even your dog probably does it (I have no evidence to support that dog’s do it). The breathing component of mindfulness helps to calm the body by slowing down the heart rate. The focus required from the brain in order for this to occur also aids in quieting the chatter. It helps to increase focus and when the chatter is gone, you can also see new perspectives or solutions for problems.

Gold, right? So this must cost a fortune to learn?

Not at all. You eager beavers can get started today and I found this awesome link to give you some resources to kick off with. Give it a go.

Try it for 14 days- it takes up to 10 minutes a day.

Let me know how you go!

Originally published on Wordpress