Note #024
Clearing the Clutter
Finally. I just submitted my application packet for the Nevada Woman Owned Small Business of the Year! (I was nominated by one of my mentors in the Small Business Development offices.) How exciting.
And Yay! One more fun thing checked off the list.
And in so doing, I’ve cleared up a lot of mental space.
I was notified that I had been nominated not too many days before the application was due. Rather than sit down and just fill out the darn form, I mentally wrote and re-wrote what I thought would be captivating responses…sure to win over the “judges” to select me.
The mental work and the worry that came along with it whipped my butt! When I finally sat down to the application on my computer screen, the questions were nothing like I had imagined. What a waste of time and energy I had created for myself.
Breathe Your Way Through
Oh the breath, marvelous cleanser that it is!
Sitting down to the reality of the situation brought me right up close and personal with the amount of mental anguish I sometimes create and cause for myself.
Do you ever do that? Create a mental mountain out of a mole hill, before you even know all the needed facts or information?
To steady my mind and tap into my creativity, I had to let go of my pre-planned imaginary concoction of a story. Coming into Current Time with myself through an intentional breathing practice allowed me to focus on the reality of my task.
With long, slow exhales I released the false narrative I had dreamed up, cleared my thinking mind, and opened myself to a deeper sense of creativity. The words eased from my heart to my mind and flowed without a hint of restriction into the text blocks of the pdf.
Breathing steadily and deeply through the writing process connected me to a sense of Flow. Time dissolved. My jaw relaxed. The words, the vocabulary appeared even before the thought was finished.
Just One Thing - Monotasking
When we can center ourselves in Current Time by focusing on the breath, we clear and regulate the nervous system.
A regulated nervous system allows the frontal cortex of the brain to wake up and become active and engaged, full of inspired wisdom, weaving together all sorts of threads of experience and knowledge and “heart” into a beautifully crafted outcome…no matter the project or undertaking.
Multitasking is a lie. The brain can’t do it. Well…it can try, but what it ends up doing is toggling. It can learn to toggle very, very quickly. But it cannot focus on more than one task at a time.
So let go of the heavy, heavy burden of trying to multitask your way through life.
Give yourself over to the blessed lightness of monotasking.
This presentation with Sanjay Gupta on the myth of multitasking is worth the 2 minute time investment.
As I shared in a previous post, managing your stress is of critical importance to your overall wellbeing. The Locus of Control is a primary self-management tool for gracefully handling your stress. Adding monotasking to the bull’s eye can go a long way to support your efforts to maintain self-control and self-responsibility.
Head to the bottom of this post to grab your free Just One Thing lesson and self-reflection.
The Outer Mirrors the Inner
When our inner world - our mind and heart - is too full, cluttered, disorganized, it shows up in our outer world. Our living space is a mess. Our office becomes a huge jumble. Our car or truck, a tangle of stuff. And what about our relationships? Same. Jumbled, rough edges, harsh words. Broken commitments. Lost friends.
Clearing the inner clutter is essential to your overall wellbeing.
So this Christmas Season, gift yourself the magic of simplicity. Just one thing. Monotasking.
How can you start living a simpler life? What is the best way to monotask?
Simple.
Breathe.
Breathe your way through
what ever you’re up against.
Center yourself in Current Time in your body. Feel your feet on the floor or the earth beneath you.
Lengthen your spine.
Soften your shoulders and your jaw.
Relax your belly.
Let go of a long, slow, steady exhale. Squeeze the belly in toward the spine.
Inhale, expanding the belly. Sip in a tiny bit more air.
Exhale. Feel the air brush past the rim of your nostrils as you flatten the belly to the spine. Slowly.
And continue…in just this one thing, until you feel settled and calm.
Get your free Monotasking Lesson today!
As always, thanks for being YOUTH Positive.
And I sure hope you and yours enjoy a peaceful, joyful Christmas Season.
All the love there is,
Molly
P.S. If you found this useful, please share! The more happier families we have, the better off we are a a world. ❤️