Hey friends 👋🏻
Here are Doable ideas, Reflections and Mindfulness to try out this week.
Doable ideas 💭
To increase motivation/improve consistency, make the process more fun.
Everyone defines “fun” differently.
Work out with friends. Work on projects together. Gamify the process.
No one can compete with you when work doesn’t feel like work. 😉
Reflections 🪞
What’s stopping me from taking the first step?
Mindfulness 🧘🏻♀️
I made it a mission to tame my thoughts better this quarter through practising Stoicism and meditation (not consistent at the moment).
Arguably, our thoughts (hence our choices and responses) are the only thing under our control.
I went through an emotional breakdown in late December last year and there were many sleepless nights. I noticed myself hopping onto every single thought that came to mind and engaging in them till I went down the spiral.
Every night.
So instead of following traditional guided meditation in which you usually focus on one thing (a mantra, breathing pattern etc.), I started looking into open-monitoring meditation (first heard of it from The Huberman podcast).
It’s a fancy way of saying you simply observe what’s on your mind and let it come and go.
Which proves to be extremely hard for me since my mind is like a lost puppy.
I noticed that it was easier to sit back and observe my thoughts when I was in float therapy, but not in bed. 🙃
Will keep researching, trying and report key findings later.
Ideas Worth Pondering 🧠
There are many skills and lessons to be learnt across different life aspects.
My favourite one being the physical and mental insights I get from working out.
Over the 4 months of trying to do my first pull up, I learnt this valuable lesson:
Push through the mental barriers, not the technical ones.
I noticed my mind always gave up first.
Then my brain started making excuses to prevent myself from pushing till failure.
For months, I felt like there was a glass ceiling stopping me from pulling myself higher for the chin-up.
Surely, I was strengthening my muscles, but if I was being completely honest, if I showed up and gave my best in every training, it wouldn’t have taken 4 months.
I was my own roadblock.
It ultimately comes down to how much your value and prioritise your goal.
Whatever you are working on, are you giving your best? Do you show up consistently despite your mind screaming “not today”?
And more importantly, what is your bare minimum on the days you really lack energy or time?
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
– James Clear
Video This Week 🎥
Such a catchy song I can’t resist making a cover of (not to mention it’s in the same key as my handpan!) 🙂
P.S. I’m also on Spotify and Apple Music now… just in case you can’t enough of my handpan music 😉
If you enjoyed that, please share with others.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:
- Take the free wellbeing quiz here to find out what you can work on next to improve your mental health (it only takes 2 minutes!)
- Work 1:1 with me to improve your health and wellbeing with music therapy. No waiting list!
Be awesome x
Venus