5 seconds, I have 5 free seconds to tell you a resource I use to help calm my compulsive anxiety.
If I have a plan in my little head and my day starts to fall apart, I fall apart too.
Using today as an example, my plan was to finish laundry, clear some videos from my phone and when Dave got home from work, spend some time training the horses then run to town to grab groceries and pick up something for dinner. I expected Dave to be home no later than 5:00 pm only because I knew that he needed to fix an irrigation line in the yard. He had rented a mini excavator and I knew it had to be back in the morning so he would need to be home before dark.
5:00 pm came and went, then so did 6:00 and by 6:45 I started to steam like a tea kettle. Not only was it getting late, but I now had nothing planned for dinner and no time to go to the grocery store. The only thing I had accomplished on my to do list was the laundry. I had spent any time I had watching our 4 yr old playing in his inflatable pool. Too many horror stories about children drowning for me to do anything but sit 5 feet from the pool while he splashed around growling like Godzilla.
I caught myself getting pissed off. This is not a healthy place for me or anyone else who might get caught in those building storm clouds. “Hey!” I internally scolded myself. “Seriously, Dave is stressed out too, so you need to take a freaking chill pill and make do with the situation so you don’t create a mess when he gets home.”
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I mentally start working through things. No big deal, I can grab some hamburger and defrost it into something magical. I don’t have to go to the grocery store today, I can figure something out and the horses will certainly live to see another day. “Good Job!”, I mentally pat myself on the back and then say, “okay, know I want you to tell me a couple of good things that have happened today.”
I start to think back through the day, right! Yes, I got up, showered, played puppets with my child, exercised, cleaned out my laundry room and got my sheets off my bed. “Perfect!”, I reply. “See you did the things that you need to make it a great day, the ones that really matter to you.”
And you know what? I am completely right! By a simple rearranging of my thoughts I took a lethal situation where I was about to cause an argument into a positive situation where I became grateful for what I had done today instead of focusing on what I did not get done.
Pick two or three things in your day that are more of an absolute to get done and let the rest slide. Those things can be as small as you need them to be, no kidding, you can even pick brushing your teeth if your day is that crazy nuts. It allows you to still feel some sense of accomplishment if you can still check of some of your tasks, no matter how small. It’s a mental release to get things off of your list. Your pea sized brain does not really care if it is painting your entire house or painting your toenails it just sees it as a “done” item from your list. Try it out, you can even add silly things to your list just to see yourself check them off.
Make It A Great Day!
AJ