Have you ever felt your thoughts circling? I notice that, especially at the current time, with there being so much News, with a capital N.
I’ve talked many times about Wellbeing Anchors and how you can build up your own personal quiver of tools, routines and techniques for pulling yourself out of the gunk and into a better feeling place. If you want to know more, you can grab my mini guide here.
So today I want to centre on just one tool, which as we move towards spring and outside becomes so much more inviting, is easy to enjoy.
Try this next time your thoughts start to spiral into negative places. The first thing to do is get your boots on and get outside. Your body responds so well to fresh air and movement, aaaaand you get bonus points if you choose to abandon your desk in search of sunshine on your face. No matter how long you have, ten minutes, half an hour, half a day, take the opportunity to stride out and play ‘Blackbird, Pigeon, Magpie, Squirrel! ( or if you’re in a built up urban situation ‘Red Car, Green Car, Chip Shop, BUS!’).
The objective of the game is super simple: place your attention outside of yourself. Listen to the sounds around you, feel the path beneath your feet and the air on your face, allow your eyes to seek out tiny details:
“Oh look, there’s a lizard tank in the tattoo parlour”
“Hey, the snowdrops are doing their thing”
“Whoah, look at the size of that dog/house plant/birdpoop/etc”
Details people, look for the details.
As the name implies, you’re looking for the ordinary, and marvelling in it.
Imagine it’s the first time you’ve ever seen a pair of trainers dangling from an overhead wire, or that you’ve never seen a squirrel before. Take delight in the everyday normal shit that surrounds you and take it all in, because when you’re focussing ‘out there’ you tend to forget the internal doomscroll of your thoughts.
And if you do find yourself retreating inward again, amp up the wonder and say hello to every friendly street cat and park dog you see (I’m pretty sure I’m not the only person who greets passing dogs as old acquaintances?)
If you’d like to add an extra dimension to the game, utilise the pauses. So where the path splits or there’s a road junction, stop for a moment, check in with your posture. How does it feel to be stood? If you soften your knees, is it better or worse? If you tuck your bum in, is it better or worse? If you lengthen your spine as though it’s being tugged by a string from the heavens, is it better or worse? NEWS FLASH! You can also do this anytime. Like NOW. Go on! Stand up and have a quick body check in. It’ll take 10 seconds max.
It felt good, right?
Looking at far off horizons is soothing to the eyes and the nervous system. You don’t have to be looking at any great beauty, it’s just about giving yourself permission to see beyond your proximity, so let your eyes drift to the horizon and give them a break from close concentration.
Whilst we can’t control our external environment, we CAN change how we RESPOND to it. Curate your tools, learn what soothes you, discover simple ways to calm your internal system.
If you’d like to work on this more deeply, please get in touch, it would be my pleasure to chat through the possibilities.
In the meanwhile, stay curious.
Big love,
Carrie