I firmly believe that if we want to know the truth about how we are doing, we should think less and feel more. Instead of getting caught up in our mind and all the chatter it keeps up (do this, don’t do that, say this, don’t say that, feel this, don’t feel that…), we should take the time to regularly check in with our body and pay attention to the messages it is sending us.
This is important not only because it is a way to ensure that we don’t let our mind lie to us by telling us that we should do, say or feel things (or vice versa) that aren’t going to be good for us, but also because when we prioritise our thinking over our feeling it can result in us overlooking our physical health.
Because my thinking has been less than crystal clear of late (thank you perimenopause and pandemic brain fog) I have been doing what so many of us do — which is the exact opposite of what we should. I have been trying to think harder and cleverer, instead of feeling into the fact that I needed to give myself a break. The more I reached for mental clarity and brilliance, the more I ignored my body (and the more the clarity and brilliance eluded me).
Suffice to say that it didn’t end all that well and I was recently diagnosed with a case of walking pneumonia which has at least forced me to stop trying so hard to be clever.
Unsurprisingly, after a couple of days of thinking less and feeling more I have been able to put some words onto paper – for this rather delayed newsletter and also for the last few instalments of my new Make Work Work For You self-study eCourse.
I am pretty sure I am not the only one who pushes myself harder when the best thing I could do for myself would be to take a break. What about you – is there anything you have been de-emphasising by putting all of your attention on something else?
Take a few minutes to really, truly, thoroughly connect with your body and listen to what it is telling you…
Is there any pain? Any discomfort? Any tiredness? Any stress or tension?
What are you or have you been ignoring?
What do you need to give yourself?
I hope that whatever it is you need, you are able to give it to yourself with compassion and grace – and without having to get sick.
Love,
Judy