I poked myself in the eye 👁️ so severely that it required a trip to the emergency room 🏥, a tetanus shot 💉, and eye antibiotics. Embarrassing really.🫣 It happened solely because I was rushing and trying to do too many things at once.🤹‍♂️ Life continues to offer me a powerful message to slow down and this time, I’m listening.👂

I believe that we’re here in the world to learn lessons. 👩‍🏫
It’s our job to listen, learn, and grow, or not.
If we’re not paying attention at a low level, life will heat up 🔥 and escalate its efforts to help us learn, even if it means discomfort, injury, loss, or harder lessons. 👩‍🏫
This incident was a real eye-opener… pun intended! 👀

I’ll save you the visuals and the details, but I’ve come to the harsh realization that I’m ALWAYS in a hurry,🏃‍♀️ even when I don’t have to be. I still struggle to be present with the tsk at hand.

I spend most of my days hurried and rushing from one thing to the next.🏃‍♀️ If I have a moment, I’m trying to use it “productively”. As I’m doing one thing, I’m already thinking about the next thing or the next ⏭️ 10 things lingering. It is a constant struggle and a terrible habit I’m becoming increasingly aware of.

Our society rewards and prioritizes that hurried state and chronic sense of urgency❗ Busyness has become a badge of honor. The mental load and management of all life’s pieces combined with the emotional and social pressures are ever present and taking a toll that we’re rarely conscious of.

Rushing, multi-tasking, and over-committing are habits that need to be addressed and reframed. This sense of urgency❗is a chronic state that puts us on edge, makes us impatient, intolerant, and inconsiderate, and robs us of the present moment. Sadly, this has become the norm and I’m calling us all out. This is NOT who I want to be in the world and I’m asking you to take a look at these patterns too.

This week, I’ll challenge you to assess your habits to assess how well they’re serving you, or not. Consider the following.

• How present are you in your daily life?
• Do you rush?
  Why do you do that?
• Do you multi-task, trying to accomplish as much as you can in a single moment?
• Is there a sense of urgency that fuels you?
• Where does this come from?
• Is it self-imposed, habitual, or have you over-committed and taken on too much?
• What does it feel like to slow down?

Here are a few points to consider as you take a look at these habits:

• Pay attention. What are you doing and why are you doing it?
• Do one thing at a time. Pay attention to where your mind wanders. Can you bring it back to the task at hand? What happens when you slow down?
• When you feel overwhelmed or recognize that hurried state, ask yourself “What’s the next right thing?” Maybe it’s making a list, grabbing a snack, making a phone call, folding a shirt, going to the bathroom, or even taking a breath. Focus on the next right thing and do that.
• Your brain’s 🧠 job is to think and it works overtime. Choose a single word or mantra to concentrate on to keep yourself focused and centered. The busier you are, the more you’ll need this practice. Choose a positive, helpful word or phrase such as “Breathe”, “Steady”, “One things at a time”, “I get to slow down today”.
• Pay attention to your self-talk. How does your inner dialogue influence these situations? Have you bought into the hustle mentality and feel the pressures of doing too many things? Do you have an inner critic that chimes in? What really needs your attention? How can you focus on that?
• Maybe you have an “Accomplisher”🦸‍♀️ like me. Maybe your Accomplisher needs to know it can relax and take a little breather. Perhaps your nervous system needs to know it’s safe to rest.
• I’ll offer you three tools to practice. Self-Awareness, Self-Compassion, combined with Self-Permission offer you a powerful starting point as you put an end to these habits.

You pay attention👀 and I will too. These habits can be broken, and we’ll be better, calmer, and more pleasant to be around. And maybe we can learn life’s lessons more quickly and easily so no one else winds up in the ER!