I get it, life isn’t exactly going your way and all you want to do is either crawl into a hole and die or scream at the top of your lungs. I’m going to let you in on a little secret, neither of those options will help, however I hope this next post might do the trick.

We are all drifting through life, taking each day as it comes. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, in comes a sour difficulty. I know I speak for everyone when I say, these lemons come flying towards us at a hundred miles an hour, at the most inopportune times. 

One minute we’re high on life and the next, the sky is falling. Unlike the old adage… You can put the juicer away, because we ain’t making lemonade today! No, we’re taking this lemon and dealing with it. Unfortunately, life isn’t always going to be smooth sailing. It can be hard and hectic at times. The majority of these lemons are out of our control, so we need to step back and evaluate the situation. After some self-reflection and research, I have come up with the perfect acronym to help you find your calm, it goes a little like this.

(L)ISTEN TO YOUR BODY

Feeling tired? Take a break. Food cravings? Fix it. Energy levels through the roof? Then go for a walk, run or whatever floats your boat. First things first, stop trying to force something to work the way you want/think it’s supposed to. Nine times out of ten it’s out of your hands, so listen to what your body is telling you. Just because they say avocados are good for you, or you’ve eaten one every day for breakfast for the past year. Doesn’t mean that today should be the same. If you feel it, then follow through on it. If not, then don’t… It’s that simple! I never used to listen to  my body, resulting in me burning out and having no energy or motivation to keep going. Nowadays, I’ve learnt to listen and I’ve come to find, I’m a lot stronger, mentally and physically than I originally thought I was.

(E)XERCISE YOUR SENSES

This is a simple, yet effective technique that will help prevent anxiety and reduce stress. When life starts to overwhelm you, take yourself out and follow the five steps below. By shifting your focus to the task at hand, you very quickly forget about the negative thoughts causing you to panic. If you’re successful, you will find that your mind has been completely emptied and are able to follow this next step.

Five things you can see

Four things you can feel

Three things you can hear

Two things you can smell

One thing you can taste

(M)OVE-FORWARD IN YOUR MIND

I came across a lovely quote that goes: “There comes a day when you realize turning the page is the best feeling in the world, because you realize there’s so much more to the book than the pages you were stuck on.”When you think about it, the earth must continue spinning for life to go-on living. The same applies to you. Stop letting one small thing, take control and stop you from seeing all the good life has to offer. Push past the negativity, the comeback is always stronger than the setback. I would waste so much time dwelling on the small negative thoughts, meanwhile ignoring all the positives in my life. What I was seeing as an obstacle, wasn’t really that important in the grand scheme of things. Ask yourself how BIG, is your big deal? Once you figure that out, moving forward will be like a walk in the park.

(O)WN YOUR POWER

By taking back and owning what is rightfully yours, you can do great things. I don’t mean a physical form that has been taken from you, but more the power that lies within you, which you are no longer in control of. We all have an inner power, but most of the time we don’t use it or even know how to. My power (which I once looked at as my weakness) is over-thinking. By pure coincidence, I started becoming mindful in my daily routine. As I have mentioned in a previous post ‘TEN TO ZEN’, to overcome this I began writing down all the thoughts inside my head. Whether they were negative or positive, I would scribble them in my notebook to help clear my brain (I carry a notebook everywhere with me). After looking at them carefully, I realised I was channelling my inner power. Now I use these thoughts to inspire my writing, thus turning what was once my weakness into my strength. I have taken ownership of my power and it no longer controls who I am or how I act.

(N)OURISH YOUR SOUL

Nourishment is defined as ‘the substances necessary for growth, health, and good condition’ and Soul as ‘the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being, regarded as immortal.’So the term Nourish your soul, is a pretty vague statement. For this part, it all depends on you as an individual. Sorry folks, for this section you have control of the wheel. Everyone’s substances for growth are different, so go out and find yours. Then you can start to implement it into your life. For me, it’s working out, writing and being still. So, I make sure I do at least one of the three everyday.

(S)MILE ABOUT THE GOOD STUFF

Just because one lemon has got in your way, doesn’t mean everything else sucks. I’m sure if you evaluated all the pros and cons in your life, you would definitely find more to smile about.

If all else fails, then grab the tequila and salt! But always remember the moral of the story, don’t let one bad day think you have a bad life.