Hello,
I'm Annie Moussou,
A certified EFT tapping master practitioner.
I help women build confidence,
Set boundaries,
And enjoy healthy relationships.
Welcome to my podcast,
Hush Your Mind,
Building a better relationship with yourself.
On this show,
I offer practical wisdom to help you clear fears,
Limiting beliefs,
And trauma so that you can gracefully create a life you love.
Thanks for joining me in episode 43 of my podcast,
Hush Your Mind,
Building a better relationship with yourself.
Slowing down isn't easy.
Sometimes I flail in a whirlwind of obligations.
I prune my priorities and take breaks,
Yet the familiar feeling of urgency creeps up.
This invisible force shoos me out of bed before I've yawned two times.
It bosses me around to get things done.
My nerves barely have time to relax during breaks.
Before I know it,
The day comes to a close.
Sigh.
Recently,
I had COVID and strep throat that stopped me in my tracks.
I hadn't been sick for years and resembled a sloth.
It made me wonder the need to rush that's so inherent to our society.
Why do we keep hustling when our bodies beg for rest?
Why do we feel worthless if we're unproductive?
Here's the thing.
More is never enough.
I love this quote by author Erin Lochner.
Quote,
Busyness is a byproduct of our culture.
It is the sacrifice we make for our religion of more,
For our perfectionist tendencies,
For our temptation to overschedule,
Over inform,
Over provide.
End quote.
Author Erin Lochner invites us to acknowledge the vanity of seeking more.
That's not to say we shouldn't aim to improve our lives.
But it's wise to contemplate how we spend our limited time and energy.
Because it's tempting to believe,
If I could just be,
Do,
Have,
XYZ,
I'd be happy.
What's more,
This scarcity mindset shows up in surprising ways.
Like when we rush through the day,
Check work email in bed,
Feel unworthy of downtime,
Try to perfect ourselves,
Compare ourselves to others,
Don't speak up,
And avoid trying new things.
We may feel validated when we amass stuff or people please,
But never for long.
It's a depressing,
Vicious cycle.
Instead,
Accept that we'll never be good enough.
Consider how painful it is to measure your worth.
Then forfeit the game.
We can then anchor ourselves to a higher purpose.
Seek to nourish more joy,
Peace and love in everything that we do.
And take one intentional breath after another.
Here's a question to contemplate.
Who's underneath the obligations?
Funny what illness can teach you.
I had been resisting a 102 degree fever checking emails at my desk.
But the words on the screen made little sense.
My fingers floated above the keyboard.
All I could focus on was the raging pulse in my head.
As I forced myself to get to bed.
I remembered this quote by Virginia Woolf.
Quote,
We cease to be soldiers in the army of the upright.
We become deserters.
They march to battle.
We float with the sticks on the stream.
Helter skelter with the dead leaves on the lawn.
Irresponsible and disinterested and able,
Perhaps for the first time in years,
To look round,
To look up,
To look,
For example,
At the sky.
End quote.
Slowing down is hard because we must confront our vulnerability.
Painful feelings like guilt,
Fear,
Shame,
Abandonment and powerlessness rise up to the surface.
Emotions that tend to get masked by our usual frenetic pace.
Suddenly our priorities and responsibilities flip upside down.
It's a humbling process when your most important tasks become slow down,
Sip on water and breathe.
My body lets me know whenever I work too much.
Nowadays,
I'm better at listening to its signs,
Like glazed over eyes and tight shoulders.
But it hasn't been easy learning how to check in with myself.
When I'm sick,
I clearly see how much I've identified with the outer world.
We all juggle different roles,
Like parent,
Partner and employee.
But we're much more than our social construct.
If we get too immersed in our obligations,
We may forget to look up at the sky and to honor our whole self.
Here's an idea.
Simplify as much as possible.
Slowing down gives us space to breathe and assess what really matters.
Minimalism also advises us to refuse what's unessential,
To embrace what's essential.
When I get caught up in the energy of busyness,
I try to remind myself that it's a choice.
No one forces me to keep 15 tabs open on my browser,
To clean up the whole house before guests visit,
Or to devour a dozen self-help books.
So I empathize with my inner child.
I listen to its worries about missing out,
Disappointing others and being judged.
So slowing down means going against the grain.
It certainly doesn't mean I'm a failure.
Our society glorifies busyness,
But we don't have to.
Here are some tips to create more space in your life.
Breathe deeply to activate your body's relaxation response.
Notice when you tie busyness to feeling worthy.
Pinpoint what's important and say no to the rest.
Focus on one task at a time.
Try a grounding technique every hour.
Turn off email notifications and schedule non-negotiable breaks.
To conclude,
Here's a quote by Gandhi.
Quote,
There is more to life than simply increasing its speed.
End quote.
Slowing down is a practice.
Once I recovered from my ailments,
I rolled up my sleeves to get back to work.
Though I took care to do only a few tasks,
I could feel the sense of urgency tiptoeing around my desk.
It hovered over my shoulders,
Grumbling about my sluggish pace.
My eyes wandered towards the window.
Above the street lamps,
Fuchsia orange clouds were dispersing by the minute.
Then I took a deep breath.
I breathed in slowly through my nose,
Letting my chest and lower belly rise.
Then I exhaled slowly.
Thank you so much for joining me in this episode of Hush Your Mind.
If you enjoyed it,
Please feel free to visit my about page on my InsightTimer profile for my website and follow me for new content and live EFT tapping sessions.
May you have the courage to love and accept yourself.
Be well and take care.
