Have you ever felt your heart racing and struggled to get your mind to focus and relax? It can be hard to find balance when the world feels chaotic, but you can calm both your mind and your body. Don’t let the actions of others consume you. Stop, gather your thoughts and control your inner peace.
About a month into the pandemic, I felt like I couldn’t pinpoint anything that was going to happen next. Normal things that I could count on like toilet paper, Lysol wipes, peroxide, and alcohol being in stock at the store we’re not available. The freedom to play at our local park was gone. Yellow tape prevented access to the play equipment. That loss of control made me anxious and I had to slow down and evaluate what was needed for relief.
Here are a few tips that help me find balance when the world feels chaotic
Find your calm.
This could be meditating, prayer, yoga, tai chi, etc. The key is to find an action or space that brings you relief and silences your atmosphere.
That’s the coolest thing about the human brain. A person could be sitting in a crowded room and still be able to mentally focus in on one person’s voice. According to Dr Tobias Reichenbach, the lead author from the Department of Bioengineering, this is called selective attention. He states that “Humans excel at selectively listening to a target speaker when there are a lot of background noises, such as many competing voices. In this din of chatter the auditory cortex switches into action and with laser focus, processes information that enables us to zone in on one conversation.”
Thus, our brains have the ability to to focus even when there is a lot of noise around us, so we have to utilize that ability when trying to find balance.
Say No.
Sure, no one wants to let their friends or colleagues down by saying, “No.” However, when you show up ready to answer everyone’s needs you can inadvertently neglect your own needs. The world will still keep moving even if you decide to be selective with your time and energy.
Don’t overload your proverbial plate. Finding balance means you will have some down time.
Turn off the noise and unplug.
This is a lesson that I’m constantly learning. The over-stimulation of cellphones, social media, television, news media, etc can have you feeling bombarded by things that are outside of your control. Ferris Jabr wrote in Scientific American, “Downtime replenishes the brain’s stores of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and simply form stable memories in everyday life.”
His words make it clear that we need to let our brains rest so we can be our best selves.
Find Joy.
Additionally, find a cause that excites and uplifts you. One cause that energizes me is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The work that they do to help families of children with rare diseases like Sickle Cell Disease directly coincides with my own life’s work. If you want to help families have more time with their children make a donation. Purchase a ThisShirtSavesLives.org tee and let other’s know you support and life-saving charity.
Lastly, when you give yourself a break about finding the perfect kind of balance for your life your appreciate the balanced moments as they appear. This quote wraps Up the concept well, “ Being balanced does not mean being calm, relaxed, and content all of the time. Balance often occurs only for a fleeting moment, but it can reappear over and over again“ F. Diane Barth L.C.S.W.