whopsie daisy

 Whoopsie...I have committed to writing every day, with exception of visitors or visiting. Yesterday, I was becoming overly concerned about a dinner table I get to decorate in 1.5 WEEKS! I get a little too focused on certain tasks and too little focused on others. I have been that way my whole life. I was way more centered when children arrived in my life. I was able to, for the most part, complete several tasks that were needed and wanted by them but unable to extend outside of their lives. DON'T get me wrong, I loved every minute of it! I wouldn't do much different. 

Now that I have a nest without chicks, I see how unfocused or overtly focused I can be. Just being honest here. I can logically see why some things are "my Achilles heel" and lead to procrastination and or tasks left undone. 

I was listening to "Mel Robbins" on Youtube. She speaks, now I am paraphrasing, how our brains are hard-wired to keep us from hurt. So when we set up our days and file through thoughts, we have a short amount of time before our brains redirect us to keep us safe. Now, are there things we do without thinking that are important to us? Some may love exercising, working, serving, cooking, etc. So now I am "off-roading" to what I think. I know some things come easily and without much thinking. I know there are certain actions that I do daily that barely need a thought. Now back to Mel...since our brains are set up to keep us from hurt, we are set up for "stopping" at things that can bring us pain, embarrassment, etc. She shares that she arrived at a place in her life where she was sleeping too much, drinking too much, and self-isolating. She said that she was hitting the snooze button every morning, postponing getting ready for work. She said that one day she awoke and thought about how NASA counts down before lift-off....5, 4, 3,2, 1. She said those numbers and for the first time in a few months, got right out of bed. She tried it the next day and the next with the same success. She describes how when we think about things our brain within 5 seconds, starts a dialogue of shutting that down so we don't get hurt. She encourages us to use the count down. (Note: it apparently won't work if you count up as it can go on for infinity.) But counting backwards interrupts the message our brains go to and creates action and actually sparks our brain to do differently. I recommend to my 2 readers to look Ms. Mel up and give her 10 minutes of your time. 

Hope you followed that. I did wake up at 3:oo a.m. and am running on non-firing brain cells. But I chose to try that today. Having awoken in the wee hours of the morning, I got up and emptied the dishwasher, filled it, wiped down counters, swept floors, moped, picked up items, and arranged throw pillows. By the time Prince awoke, I was laying on the sofa, covered in downy soft blankets, watching the above-mentioned person as well as other shows. Now, in my head, I am thinking of all the things I want/need to do today to feel successful. I snuggled down deeper into the cushions as I reviewed the list for success. I slowly started realizing my brain was messaging me loudly. "YOU are too tired" to do anything, "YOU need to sleep in", "YOU should just lay here and relax." My lovely brain keeping me from pain or hurt. I used the "5,4,3,2,1" and I got up instantly! I straightened the couch, made the bed, cleaned rooms, picked up some of the "piles" that were made for a  more convenient time, hung some artwork, folded the things in the dryer, showered and did my hair, answered texts, and started making lemon-curd for my sweet neighbor. It is now almost 1:oo in the afternoon and I am definitely waning in the energy department but still am going, albeit slower than prior, I am still going. 

Now, I just was made aware of this particular speaker and her 5 second rule. I can say that I used it today and for today, it worked. My goal is to use it for a week. If  my thought process isn't' going where I want it I will use the count, if I have a goal to accomplish I will use the count. The science of it all makes sense to me and so now I will put it into practice . I hope you do too.

Go and count.