It is a powerful exercise to observe what things/people/situations trigger us to become stressed, to feel stressed.
For me I noticed that “worry” was a big part of my stress…
Before cancer, I worried about what would happen at work if I had a meeting with someone who I didn’t shared many common interests with…I would worry about having or not having enough for my children’s future…I would worry about people who I loved and cared…when they were going through issues…
But during treatment, I learned in the hard way I must admit that I couldn’t control anything except the present moment.
One minute I was at home with my family, the next I was at the emergency department going through tests to see what was wrong with me…it was really tough. It happened more than once!!!
I had quite a few delays at the beginning of my treatment too before I understood all I could control was what was happening exactly at the present moment.
As cliché as this will sound…I must admit this was one of the most valuable lessons I learned.
I try very hard not to plan too many things in advance in my life these days….there is so much freedom that comes with that.
When I catch myself worrying about what is going to happen with a situation I can’t control, I take deep breathes and remind myself where I have been.
I have got to say that during my treatment was refreshing to only think about the now…
what will I eat today…
what exercise will I do today…
what book will I read today…
what meditation will I listen to…
What should I do with the kids when they get home from school…
It was so refreshing to have only one focus: SURVIVING….
I didn’t worry about what clothes I should wear as I spent most of my time on my pijamas…
no worries about work as I didn’t go to work….
no worries about anybody else because I had to focus on myself only…
no worries about money because there was nothing I could do about earning more money…
there was nothing I wanted to buy…
things like renovating our house became irrelevant….
It sounds crazy right? Maybe it sounds selfish too as I know we can’t live exactly like that..I was in a very particular situation.
But having cancer and fighting for my life, it showed me that all the “white noise” we create in our heads takes ALL OUR ENERGY AWAY…
We tend to focus a LOT on ALL OF THE WRONG THINGS
We mostly worry about things that WILL NEVER HAPPEN or that WE CAN’T CONTROL…
So if you took all your worries away…how would you feel?
This is your exercise for today…imagine a life without any of the worries you have created in your head every day.
How would that make you feel?