#29: Slow down & sustain

The current crisis has turned lives upside-down, and many of us enter the Easter break with our heads spinning from a whirlwind of disrupted routines, 24/7 childcare, increased work stress, worry for others, looking out for family members, neighbours, colleagues, not to mention the incessant bad news and conspiracy theories in our newsfeeds.

So make this Easter a time to slow down and make time for ourselves.

This article comes from somebody who learned the hard way that trying to do and be everything in every role in our lives eventually takes its toll. 

So although we might not be able to get away to the country, a spa, or get out and spend much time in nature, take note of these 30 self care tips and treat yourself to as many of them as you wish. 

There’s never been a more important time to stay healthy, rested and energised.

Overthinking is a common phenomena that impacts many of us. It can lead to serious emotional distress and increase the risk of mental health problems.

Thinking about things in endless circles is exhausting, and can create unnecessary stress. Especially at a time like this when some of us have more free time than usual, as well as plenty of negative news inputs to put our brains in a spin.

And if you’re prone to overthinking yourself, be reassured that it is possible to overcome the pattern with some simple techniques.

This article from The Power Up regular Thomas Oppong looks more closely at the phenomena and shares some tips from mind experts on how to train our brains to take a different route.

“Imagine if eating were as simple as refueling a car,” begins this article from TED’s How to be a better human series. 

“You’d fill up only when an indicator nudged towards E, you couldn’t possibly overdo it or else your tank would overflow, and you’d never, ever dream of using it as a treat.”

But for many of us – myself definitely included – that is far from the reality. We eat for many more complex reasons than because our stomachs are empty, and sometimes don’t stop even when we are full.

And unlike our cars, which we would never dream of ‘feeding’ poor quality fuel – we’re often far less discriminate when it comes to the nutritional value of our food choices. 

“It’s time to rethink our relationship with food”, says Eve Lahijani, a Los Angeles-based dietician and a nutrition health educator at UCLA. And in this article, she offers three simple tips to help us feed our hunger, instead of our emotions.

This short article resonated with me because I also discovered Stoicism and the wisdom of Marcus Aurelius around the time that my Mother became terminally ill.

As the writer here also found, Aurelius’ meditations help instil a sense of perspective and encourage us to focus on the present and the things that we can have control over. Particularly prescient at this time when many of us are feeling a little helpless to deal with the global situation taking so many lives. 

“While we don’t get to decide when we get shipwrecked, we do get to decide what we rebuild out of the debris,” she writes.

I don’t have children, but I’ve certainly seen the offspring of many of my colleagues on video calls over the past weeks, and have heard from many of those colleagues just how challenging it is keeping their kids occupied, especially whilst juggling working from home and schooling them too.

Frankly, I have enormous respect for all of you. And this article is for you. Hopefully it will give you some fresh stimulus to help deal with this unusual situation we find ourselves in.

It’s not a homeschooling post per se – more about the importance of play as a learning tool.

Maybe you’re using this Easter break to dedicate some time to taking your side hustle a little more seriously – or finally getting your business plan together.

If that’s the case, you might find this useful. 

Don’t be deterred: Creating something of our own is a great way to leave an impact on the world. But do learn from the lessons of others, such as “There is no ‘missing key’ or business building secret you aren’t in on.”

And “Don’t ‘Go hard or go home’; instead ‘Slow down and sustain’”