Monday, November 13, 2006
Magnificent Monday Motivators
Magnificent Monday MotivatorsSM ~ Time to Unplug
Have you ever felt as if you were standing at the base of Mt. Overwhelm? Are you now?
Are you feeling stressed at work? In your personal life?
It isn’t surprising for many of us to feel this way in light of our faster paced, higher tech, need it now or sooner, reaching across many miles and borders world.
What to do? One of the easiest things to do is to get unplugged. If getting unplugged is good enough for famous musicians, it is definitely is good enough for you.
Here are several options for getting unplugged.
- Take a break from everything. A yearlong sabbatical would be ideal. Not an option…then a two-week vacation, without laptops, cell phones, etc. Hmm, can’t swing two weeks, then how about one day or a half a day or even one hour of quiet, uninterrupted time for you.
- Schedule 30-60 minute blocks of time, twice a day, where you work on e-mail and make/return phone calls. Discipline is the key here.
- Stop being a slave to what ‘they’ say and honor your needs and preferred way of doing things.
- Unplug yourself from everything. Begin by imagining a large powerstrip with myriad cords connected to it. This powerstrip represents you and all the roles, responsibilities, organizations you are a part of in any way, tasks you have and anything else that is a part of your life. One by one imagine unplugging and disconnecting each cord and letting it return to its source. Allow yourself to be in this unplugged mode ~ simply Be. Engage in deep breathing, focusing on the long, slow in breath and exhale. Leave yourself unplugged as long as possible.
- Use wise discernment in choosing what you plug back in to your ‘powerstrip’.
- Engage in this uplugging imagery at the end of each day. In the morning discern what you plug in, doing so with mindfulness, compassion and respect.
- Play. Yes, that’s right good old-fashioned play, preferably outside. Run, skip, jump, walk the dog, explore the many gifts of nature, rollerblade, ride a bike, play hopscotch. Reconnect with that child-like sense of wonder and adventure.
- Laugh often, whether it’s by telling jokes or humorous stories, watching your favorite old movies/sitcoms, looking at life literally or anything else that allows you to laugh and have fun.
These things may feel awkward at first. Anything new and different is bound to feel awkward. Go with it anyway. The more you 'unplug', the more quickly it becomes a natural part of your experiences and your life. Oh, and remember that guilt is not a part of reclaiming your energy and vitality. So begin now to get unplugged.
(c) 2006 Antoinette S. Webster. All rights reserved.
