Take Back Control Of Your Life
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by life and wondered how you got here? This question can pop up in your mind as you wake up to start your day. It is a question that causes you to pause and reflect on your life.
The alarm clock goes off, and you feel a sense of dread as you have to prepare for your work day. You have to take care of many things—the to-do list of chores around the house, meetings to attend, and events to plan. The list of all these activities and more can cause you to feel stressed out.
Can you relate to being overwhelmed by so much to do that you feel like your life is out of control? If this resonates with you, let’s talk about taking back control of your life.
In this article, I hope to share some simple ways to regain the balance of your time and get your life back to enjoy each day while still being productive.
We will discuss the following ideas:
- Escape from overstimulation
- Prioritize your health
- Simplify your life
- Take time for yourself
- Connect with your tribe
I am so glad that you are here. Let’s get started!
Escape from overstimulation
Over time, we, as a society, have become accustomed to receiving a constant flow of information. We begin the day by watching the news or reading a newspaper. There are emails to check, social media accounts to view, and reports to review.
Of course, there are also those fires to put out; the unexpected situation or event just popped up and caught you by surprise.
Yes, we all have those times when we are so consumed with information to deal with that it causes overload, or for better words, overstimulation.
Overstimulation by having too many things can cause you to feel stuck or not able to perform at your best.
I like to think of this as an engine being overheated. Our brains can only take so much before it overheats and shut down.
To remedy this, I suggest you take an escape from overstimulation. Here are a few quick tips you can take:
- Step away from your computer to give your brain a break
- Turn your phone off for a select period each day
- Use games, puzzles, or word search exercises to improve your focus
- Meditate or spend some quiet time away from noise or distractions
The purpose of doing these is to give your brain a chance to rest. You are simply slowing down the pace of information flowing into your brain and giving yourself a chance to recharge and reconnect so that you can think with more clarity.
Prioritize your health
Your physical health goes hand and hand with your mental state of mind.
Each day, we can get very busy with activities that we forget how important it is to take care of our health.
How do you accomplish this? Here are a few suggestions:
- First, maintain a healthy diet incorporating fruits, vegetables, or vitamin supplements to keep your body strong.
- Spend some time in nature
- Exercise, take a walk, or move your body to help regulate blood flow
- Get enough sleep to feel refreshed each day, and if your schedule allows, take power naps
- Stay hydrated. It is essential to drink plenty of water to keep your body functioning at its best.
Now, of course, these are just suggestions. Always check in with your doctor to see what works best for you.
Simplify your life
You may have heard an expression called the KISS method….keep it simple stupid.
This method has been used to make life easy by not overcomplicating things. We use it as a reminder in our jobs, but using it in our personal life is also essential.
Simplifying your life is about managing your time more efficiently.
Instead of trying to do everything simultaneously, learn to break tasks down into segments or smaller bite sizes.
A solution to making your life less complicated is to plan out your week and categorize tasks into batches. For example, if you have emails to check, designate a specific time to check emails each day and limit the time so you do not become over-consumed.
If you have household chores, do a little each day for more time to relax on the weekend.
Learn to step back and manage the number of activities you participate in weekly. It is okay to say no sometimes by evaluating what is most important.
You may not want to miss out on a particular activity with your child, but you may need to say no to some things when you know you already have more than enough on your plate to handle.
Find balance in using your time wisely, and don’t try to be the superhero for everyone and everything.
Take time for yourself
I often like to remind people that there is only one of you. The reason behind this statement is to let each person know how important they are to others and themselves.
Sometimes we get so busy caring for others that we forget to care for ourselves.
An easy way to take care of yourself is to treat yourself as important. Learn to love yourself by doing activities you enjoy.
Read a book, attend a concert, go fishing, work in your garden, or watch a movie occasionally. Do the things that help you relax and enjoy time with yourself.
Think of the time with yourself as refilling your internal cup of energy. You have heard the saying before; you can not pour from an empty cup.
Connect with your tribe
Your tribe can be considered your family, friends, loved ones, or community. This is the support system to keep you grounded.
In life, you and I need the help of each other to survive.
It is about having relationships to encourage, support, and care for one another.
One way to keep yourself sane and not alone is to communicate with your tribe. Check-in on your tribe and maintain a regular schedule to contact them. It does not have to be daily; however, regular contact can keep you connected.
You are not all alone when you share your life with others; more importantly, life can become more manageable when you have people who care about you and want the best for you.
Final thoughts
In this article, we discussed ideas you can use to take back control over your life. These included escaping from overstimulation, prioritizing your health, simplifying your life, taking time for yourself, and connecting with your tribe.
Each day that we live can be filled with unpredictable situations. That is part of life; however, in the course of all the unforeseen and unexpected events, you can still maintain control.
Learn to manage the things you can control and adjust to situations as they come without letting them consume you or overwhelm you. Remember to live one day at a time.
Please share your comment and ideas you have used to take back control of your life. Thanks for visiting!