As I took a break last month, I really wanted to experiment with the effects on myself, so I had set up a kind of framework to test new “habits” and what they would do to my thoughts and emotions. Here’s what I did:
Don’t look at IG
I didn’t open IG once during this period and yet I had to do it with a great deal of awareness: as soon as I had an “empty” moment my automatism was to go to my phone ready to open the app, I would have had to uninstall it completely. Social networks have a strong cognitive hold on our thoughts. I gained an average of 10h over the week to devote to other activities and I felt an inner lightness from no longer being exposed to the window of other people’s lives. Have I gone back to IG on a daily basis? Definitely not. At the end of the day, I only look at the accounts I follow, and I quickly get bored with the content. So a rather positive impact on my health and well-being, with the desire to connect to the world in a different, more human way.
Not reading the news
I used to drink my morning tea and read the news in the local paper, without much interest, more out of mechanism, and in view of the anxiety-inducing news it wasn’t much of an energy booster in the early hours. I’ve skipped this step, instead eating my lunch in silence and then reading a chapter of my current book or journaling. It’s become my morning ritual to start the working day more creatively.
Complete silence for 10 minutes a day
I usually do this in the morning. With the children gone, I stay about ten minutes in silence, just being there, and being grateful for having this moment to myself.
Reading (I had one personal development book and one fiction book)
I took the time over the two weeks to read Amy Cuddy’s book – Presence. I didn’t really get into it. First of all, I find books with tiny letters compacted onto 303 pages visually very tiring for the attention span. Personally, I need an airy, structured read with spaces and type sizes that are easy on the eyes. The concepts developed are interesting: they relate to several aspects I work on in creativity mentoring: the connection between body and mind, the Self, values, among others. On the other hand, I’ve made absolutely no progress on my other fiction book, that´s a fact.
Daily Mantra Meditation SA TA NA MA
I like this meditation which is practised in Kundalini yoga and I do it on 3 tones sung, whispered and in silence by touching with the thumb the other fingers one after the other on the syllables, it lasts 10 minutes but that passes very quickly and thus this has enabled me to reconnect fully with daily meditation as part of my morning ritual.
Walk for at least 20 minutes every day
I’ve been going out for a daily walk around the neighborhood, to take a break from the day and get moving. I can’t stand sitting in front of a screen for more than an hour, my body (our bodies?) needs to move and feel the energy circulating.
I liked the way I felt. Getting out of our programmed circuits and daily loops allows us to step back and assess what feels good and what we’re following on autopilot. This requires a certain discipline and commitment, which is why I offer creative coaching to people who want to change, stimulate new ideas and create new possibilities for themselves. Coaching means giving advice and staying the course . We always go further with a responsible ally.
Think about this : When you focus your attention and energy on the outside world and react in identical ways to the same situations, your inner world becomes unbalanced and dysfunctional. You’ll become less effective at creating, more subject to your vital environment rather than its creator.
