Is it just me, or is being a working mom one endless ride of exhaustion and chaos? Life can be truly hectic, even chaotic if we don’t stop now and then to take a few minutes for ourselves.
Between our smartphones, smartwatches, and computers, our work lives were supposed to get easier, but it's gotten busier than ever before!
Life has become so fast-paced that it’s hard to keep up. If you don’t stop the pandemonium, you can begin to feel as if your life is one endless hamster wheel. I have decided that 2020 will be the year of the streamline. I must find peace.
If you are feeling off-kilter, you might need to find your peace too. Luckily, there are ways to deal with these overwhelming feelings and put some order back into your life.
Here are a few tips on how to turn your chaos around:
1. Take a break.
Give yourself a chance to take in everything going on around you. Even if your break is a nice hot bath instead of a shower, it can help. Find a little time here and there to get some peace and quiet while you reflect on the events of the day.
2. Pray & Meditate.
One of the spaces I created for myself in our new home is a prayer closet. Sometimes, I crawl into my space turn off the lights, and just pray, or sit in silence. Prayer and meditation doesn’t always mean sitting uncomfortably and chanting like the monks in the movies (no shade).
Instead, it’s a very comfortable and soothing way to calm your mind and bring you the serenity you desire. With a little practice, anyone can meditate. Just find a quiet, dark room and close your eyes. Full disclosure, this is a new practice for me, and I have yet to perfect it.
One of the images I practice regularly is casting my burdens before the Lord. Whether it's a project, a bill, my son, or entire marriage. I close my eyes and recite according to Psalm 55:22.
Lord, I cast ______ upon you, because you care about it/this/them more than I do.
He truly does. You can never love anyone or anything more than God does. The bible also teaches us that he clothes the fields and feeds the birds, how much more important are we than these?
You are important to God. Believe it or not, he wants you to win more than you do.
So picture yourself on a bridge. Imagine you’re carrying chains with heavyweights at the end. The weights represent your problems and the chaos around you. Now imagine throwing those chains over the bridge towards the Lord and watching his hands catch them.
He's good for it. This imagery will help you settle into your meditation. Once you’ve cast away your burdens, you can imagine how peaceful your life can be.
3. Find the positive.
No matter how chaotic things get, you can always try to find something good and positive in your situation. Actively look for the silver lining. It could be something as simple as a favorite song, a picture, or the smile of another person that gives you some inner peace. Look for these things and you will find them.
4. Slow down.
While we have to multitask almost constantly these days, doing so tends to wear us down even faster. Multi-tasking adds to the chaos around us.
5. Take one thing at a time.
Allow yourself to focus on that task alone. While you may be able to handle three or more things at once, the quality won't be nearly as good as if you focused on them one at a time.
6. Don’t let anyone drag you down.
"I got 99 problems, an [opinion] ain't one." - Jay-Z
Be wary when considering the opinions of others. Don’t ignore everyone, but in all honesty, make some decisions about whose opinion matters and who gets an explanation. Keep that list to no more than 5 people, sis. You don't have to shut anyone down, just kindly discard their feedback once they are done.
Remove your personal chaos causers even if one of the causes is other people. I don't know about you, but if every time I see your face there is strife, I need to see your face...LESS. Ain't nobody got time for that.
7. Take out the drama.
Eliminate the drama in your life, especially other people’s drama. It’s not your concern, so stay out of it and don't get caught up in it. Focus on solving your concerns positively rather than enjoying pity parties. This will reduce the drama and turn your focus to something positive. Robin Givens gave an excellent interview about "minding your own business" to stay happy.
Everyone has some chaos in his or her life. It isn't always a bad thing. Stress can be productive as well. In fact, without stress and responsibilities, some people would never get out of bed!
Life will always have stress and problems, but how you react to them can dictate the level of chaos in your life. The first step is realizing that you need to take some time for yourself. If you don't, nothing you do will really make that much of a difference. You can’t be there for everyone else if you aren’t taking care of yourself.
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