Are your days filled with stress, dread and have-tos? Do you find yourself dreading your week, and it is only just beginning? It is very easy to fall into a comfortable routine full of stress and not realize it, especially if you are highly empathic person. Empaths are prone to anxiety and overstimulation due to their level of sensitivity. Using tools to help de-stress and decompress throughout your day, implementing them into your routine, and consistently following through will help you tremendously. It will reset you and rejuvenate you, making it easier to enjoy your days and weeks. Here you will find seven ways you can change up your daily routine, release your stress, and enjoy your day as it goes by.
Set positive intentions and expectations before getting out of bed
Waking up each morning and shifting any dread will instantly create a positive ripple effect. Take a few minutes each morning before getting out of bed, if possible before opening your eyes, and mentally list what you have going on through that day. As you move through each item on your list, send positive energy, intention and expectation to it. This will remove dread, heaviness and negative expectations, making your load lighter and your day easier to enjoy.
Use your driving time as checking-in time
When driving to school, work, day care or anywhere else routinely, use your diving time as checking-in time. Turn off the radio and your phone and check-in with yourself to see how you are doing. Give yourself the time and space to process anything that is on your mind. Make sure to also check-in with yourself emotionally, physically, spiritually and energetically. By giving yourself time to listen to yourself, you will not hold onto things throughout your day until you find time to process them. This also gives you the opportunity to recharge, especially when driving home at the end of your day.
Make time to stop and breathe
Your breath is one of the best natural tools you can have with you always. It helps to rejuvenate you, calm you, decompress you, center you and energize you. Taking a few minutes several times throughout your day to stop and breathe will help shift any form of stress immensely. The depth and pace of your breath help, deep and slow breaths are better, but just being aware of your breath is enough. You can also intensify the experience by setting an intention to your breaths, intending to decompress as you take your breath will instantly create a difference.
Adopt a "go with the flow" attitude
Having set expectations of what your day is going to be like and not leaving room for the unexpected creates dread, stress and resistance when something changes. By adopting a "go with the flow attitude," you will make it easier for yourself to deal with anything that comes up. And you will also make it easier for you to accept the possibility of things not going your way, which that within itself releases tremendous stress due to fear and worry.
Appreciate the small stuff
By appreciating and focusing on the small stuff, you help yourself shift from the overwhelming feeling that comes from looking at the big picture into moments of joy associated with the small things taking place in the present. It also helps you to let go of what you cannot control and to become aware of how you are doing and what is important to you in that moment. If you are stuck in traffic and shift your focus from the fact that you are going to be late to your favorite song on the radio, by the time you get to your appointment, you will be in better space and less stressed than if you would to have stayed focused on being late or traffic.
Disconnect from all electronics for 10-20 minutes
All electronics cause overstimulation when you are already stimulated. Taking 10-20 minutes each day to disconnect from all electronics to help yourself recharge and regroup is crucially needed in your daily routine to de-stress and balance you. This also brings you back to what is happening and taking place in front of you instead of what is happening on the other end of the screen or the other side of the country.
Release your day when you go to bed
Take time to review your day as you are laying in bed and go over the events, situations and people that come to mind. Give thanks and send gratitude to what took place. Focus on the blessings and the positive ripple effects that were created. Breathe out anything that was the opposite with the intention of letting it go. This will keep you from losing sleep over anything that took place that day. Use this time to also let go of anything you wanted to do and were not able to. There is no need to hold onto it. You can pick it back up in the morning.
It is very challenging to make physical changes, but taking the time to at least try is always very rewarding. Take the time today to create physical change in your life. Let go of the comfort that you have fallen into and allow yourself to experience how easy and exciting your days can be.