Yesterday's Today

Today I write about yesterday.

Remember. Bite-sized. 

My meditation from my Women's Book of Courage yesterday (Day 11 of 40 Days of Flow) was about only taking bite-size pieces. It's true that often times we take off more than we can chew, sometimes viewing the MUCH bigger picture all at once and consequently throwing ourselves into a state of dizzying panic. Much to our surprise, that feeling of distress goes away once we've subconsciously taken the first tiny bite. 

From there, we're master problem solvers...until it happens again.

Anyone else all too familiar with this seemingly endless pattern? I'm not sure if it's OCD, or just my willingness to over-complicate things, but I struggle with anxiety (and it comes in the forms of worry, stress, the insatiable urge to micro-manage, guilt, panic...) So I generally try and stuff the whole thing in my mouth at once (this rule generally applies for ice cream, as well.) 

But here's the trick: once you're aware of this at times debilitating problem, you have the means to stop making the same mistake of overwhelming yourself. It may be habit for us to react to problems and instantaneously start trying to figure out how to make the problem go away. No one likes conflict...that I know of anyway. But for the majority, we don't initially take the time to see how to carry out the smaller tasks that will eventually lead to the solution. 

Like any cycle we're trying to break, being aware of it is the first step. Will you still react, freak out, and try and swallow the whole thing? Likely. But don't be embarrassed to spit some of it out (I absolutely just envisioned a bird regurgitating its food. Oh, good.) Ask for help. Or better yet, just sit with the problem for awhile. 

You ARE a master problem solver. You just gotta give it a minute. 

 

Fin.

with love,

gypsy