1 thing

Since being home from my big adventure, I have been in a bit of a slump. Very understandable. Physically and emotionally it was a Big Trip. Lol. But I am annoyed that I immediately fell into my bad habit of couch/bad tv/and snacks/doom scrolling. Oh, how that “you deserve it” voice is always so loud encouraging the bad habits. Never the healthy ones, very annoying

And of course that lifestyle always brings a dip in my mood.

So I got back to basics. I am so lucky to see it happening in real time now, and now have to ability to call on what I’ve learned to reverse the slide.

See it

Feel it

Change it

This time I had stayed connected. It may have been the only thing I did right; but it was the best thing. I kept going to my zooms. And every meeting had a kernel of truth for me. A lightbulb moment or just another layer to stuff I already know.

I chatted to friends. I said stuff out loud that was circling my head – therefore releasing myself from that constant death spiral of negative thoughts.

I wrote – a little

At some point I decided enough of the bad habits and changed 1 thing.

I love the “1 Thing” trick. As opposed to doing nothing (which is different from doing No Thing – which I will write about another day) doing 1 thing is achievable.

When you are deep in the feels, all the stuff We Need To Do seems Too Much.

Feels like we need to scale a mountain.

And so we Do Nothing, because it is easy, and the spiral continues and the feels deepen

But to do 1 thing may feel like something not daunting.

For some it is to have a shower.

A change of clothes.

Change the sheets

For me, it was starting to eat my healthy breakfast, every day. A breakfast I really enjoy, and one that takes less than a minute to put together. Healthy, yet feels decadent feeding body and soul. And sometimes we need to feed our soul almost before our body; because that’s what lifts our mood..

The next thing I did, was go and sit outside with my book. Having missed the best of the summer days being in the wrong hemisphere, it was crazy to think I was willingly missing the last of the summer days. The book was one I’d wanted to read for ages; the sun was warm; and the sounds and smells of the garden did their bit too. I watched 2 monarchs flitting around. Probably the last of the summer butterflies, their lives are so short, and yet we waste the length of time we have? Crazy

One day I went for a walk along my beloved beach to beachcomb for a friend. At dusk, the tide going out. The camp still full of holiday makers, finishing their dinners; muted conversations and the sounds of being on holiday – just relaxation in a sound bite. The gulls settling together. A dog barking in the distance. Body and soul fed.

But the real gem in the 1 Thing, is when you look at that HUGE PILE OF THINGS THAT NEED DOING. That have been yelling at you since you returned. And, because I left not long after houseguests left, and (for me) not long after Christmas. There was STUFF TO BE SORTED AND PUT AWAY. My office was a shambles. And I had piles everywhere. Where to start?

Easy. Just pick 1 thing to Do Today.

If I decide to do just 1 thing a day then that mountain becomes a series of steps. And I can do steps.

So one day I sorted my office – immediately this gave order to my life

Another day I sat and deleted 3500 of unread emails, and so found a few things I needed to sort.

1 day I wrote cards to people who have some shit going on in their lives – doing 1 Thing for me and 1 Thing for them

All the while still having the healthy breakfast and having my Vitamin D outside time

There is a meme “what is the best way to eat and elephant?”. Easy – “1 bite at a time”

So I sit here a couple of weeks later. The brain is better; some of The Jobs have been done. I’ve written a blog (or 2 😉). I haven’t lost my shit with anyone I live with. Started knitting again. Oh, and I’ve read 2 books. Progress, not perfection – I’ve also binged The Tudors and still have a bag of candy on my desk… but baby steps

So when it is ALL OVERWHELMING, just pick 1 Thing to change.

And the bonus to 1Thing? At the end of every day I can say “Today, I did Something”…

He pakaru a waka

e taea te raupine mai

A damaged canoe

can be repaired