Life is happening these days at the speed of light. Call it 2012, the Mayan calendar, or the last few good moments before the end of the world—whatever the case, we are at the brink of an acknowledged time acceleration.
Whether the time space continuum is actually changing, or modern living just makes it seem that way–thriving and not just surviving requires a serious balancing act. This means that you have to be more committed to those things that edify you, keep you healthy, and keep you sane, than you are to anything else.
It goes without saying that modern life is stressful. Rapid changes and numerous expectations within multiple areas of life at the same time have increased the number of acute and chronic stressors in people’s lives. Most people live under the steady strain of mild overwhelm. This has become the norm.
Canadian researcher Hans Selye, a pioneer in the study of stress, published research over forty years ago showing that an increasing number of people in developed countries die of what he termed “diseases of civilization” primarily caused by stress. His studies indicated that the stressors of the modern world were indeed the dominant cause of degenerative disease.
The modern system is a world-construct, a paradigm of which we are members. However, just because everything is on hyper-drive this day and age does not mean that you have to be.
Stopping My World
Allowing myself to be whipped around in the whirlwind of life for years, I began to feel that I was literally being held hostage by modernization. This, I discovered, was the invisible reason for my discontent.
So preoccupied with multitasking, I spent the majority of my time not living in the “now”, but worrying about what was coming next. The inevitable demands of life seemed to leave me scrapping for a moment of peace and a sliver of joy. Even worse, I began suffering from serious health challenges as a result.
Knowing that it was time to take my life back into my own hands, I spent a couple of years contemplating how I could extract the meaning from my hyper-busy-life, and then create a life centered around this meaning—in my existing modern world.
With this in mind I set out to discover the keys to restoring contentment, good health and well-being, and developed a personal-thrive-formula for my own life.
Pulling Out of the Matrix
When I began accepting that many of the norms that were well accepted by most people in our culture will never work for me, I knew that I was in quite a quandary. Uh-oh, mama don’t wanna play that.
Realizing that I was spending the majority of my time coping with what-is rather than following my own vibe, I learned that living strategically would be the key to personal well-being.
I had to determine how I wanted to feel, what my body really needed, and under which conditions I thrive—and then create a lifestyle and business around these personal truths (rather than the other way around). This revelation changed everything.
Doing things differently in a way that suited me meant that I had to:
–>Pull out of the mainstream matrix
–->Make self-care and personal growth my hobby
Getting My Thrive On
Being in control of my situation and having power over how I show up in the world has been life-changing to say the least. Pulling out of the matrix and reconnecting to those things that allow me to flow and be in my natural state has become my religion.
My personal thrive-formula consists of the following variables:
–>Simplify; identify and eliminate the things from my life that really aren’t important in order to consciously make time for what is (note: the world does not always agree with what I say is not important, and vice-versa)
–>Honor my natural limits; stop when I hit my personal wall rather than pushing through it and don’t over-schedule or over-commit
–>Feelings-first; decide how I want to feel, and follow where that feeling leads (the opposite of mainstream thinking) which keeps me connected to me, which then keeps me connected to my Original Blue Print, which then keeps me on my proper course (opposed to manipulated ideas and concocted plans)
–>Eat real food; follow an 80/20 rule that consists mostly of living, natural foods containing the raw materials that my body-organism needs for peak functioning and healing
–>Make rest & solitude a top priority; scheduling a pause in the middle of my day to honor my natural rhythm, restore harmony, and rekindle creativity
–>Tune into nature; time away from the hubbub of life to relax in communion with nature by laying, sitting or standing barefoot with direct contact on the earth for at least a few minutes a day (also great for the common modern day ailment of Restless Leg Syndrome)
–>Movement; gentle yoga and stretching are essential… as it integrates my mind, body and spirit simultaneously in one essential activity and balances the time spent hunched over at my computer
–>Pursue meaningful work; writing and coaching allows for self-expression and service to others which connects me to my purpose and moves me in the direction of my heart’s desire
–>Do one thing at a time; ditching the tendency to multi-task and trying to do just one thing at a time actually allows me to get much more done and feel a sense of completion and accomplishment rather than confusion
–>Say no; the phrases “that doesn’t work for me” and “let me get back to you” have relieved me from the habit of just saying yes to please everyone leaving me frustrated and resentful that my own priorities had taken the back-seat once again
–>Practice radical self-care; I am not able to take care of anyone or anything else if I’m burnt out or run down, so creating the space for self-care is critical; getting a facial, manicure, massage, time off to watch a movie, taking a nap or whatever else I may need at the moment all count
–>Regular body work sessions; extremely transformative for me and my saving grace, I enjoy various kinds of bodywork regularly and get some of my best and workable ideas during this time
–>Prioritize sleep; aiming for 9 to 10 hours of sleep is my (not always reachable but intended) goal as getting more sleep helps me function at a high level and be better at everything in my life
–>Mentoring; ever the student, working with business, health, life coaches, and spiritual counselors pays off in spades helping me with my own multi-faceted development and creating a unique lifestyle and business that is an expression of my authenticity
Beyond Should’s And Have-To’s
Being busy 24/7 means that you may be missing out on the things that really bring joy and fulfillment in your life. When life is over-complicated and over-full, there’s little space for what truly matters. Personal growth, positive energy, love, and even breathing becomes a challenge.
Paradigm Shift: What is working in your life right now, and what is not? Do you maintain the status quo (buy what they sell, eat what they serve, do what they do) rarely thinking about a more original or authentic way of doing things that may bring you more personal contentment?
Coaching tip:
–>Identify where you are on auto-pilot
–>Figure out your non-negotiables for bringing forth the divine gold within yourself
Action step:
–>Add one of these into your life regularly over the course of the next month
–>See what happens when you run at your own pace and champion your own needs
You can begin conscious lifestyle creation, starting now. With nothing more than the ingredients at hand you already possess the capability to devise a new response that can revise your current situation if you so desire.
Everything in your life can’t change over night, and certain responsibilites are required of you. However, if you think outside of the box and open yourself up to what may be viewed as unorthodox approaches, you can begin to re-order your modern life in a way that will allow you to thrive rather than just survive.
Spirit-full 