"You Are Not Your To Do List?" Are You Sure?

In yesterday's post, I wrote out all the anxious thoughts that were going through my head. I have to say, it felt good. Sometimes, just writing things out helps. People tell me this all the time, but as one of my therapists told me years ago, I am a little rebellious. If you tell me to do something, most likely I won't do it. Along with a lot of other things, I blame that rebellion on my religious upbringing, along with pretty much everything else.

After I wrote my thoughts out, it seemed like everywhere I turned the universe was giving me a little message. Like the Dr. Glenn Doyle quote Tiny Buddha shared: Look for what you can do. Take one step at a time. Another good one: You are not your to do list.

This morning, my meditation even focused on this. My guide said, in a whispery voice, "You are not your to do list?" What? Really? And my brain deserted her and started thinking about this, while also doing deep breaths. If you had asked me before the meditation if I was driven by my to do list. I would have said, "NO!" Yet, maybe I am.

My to do list is not always a formal one. It is like my own little news ticker. "Reports say Mindy is a loser today because she did not lift weights. Mindy still making headlines because she didn't make that smoothie this morning that she knows is good for her."

So today, I pledgeto be my to do list. To not be paralyzed by a long, intimidating list. Instead, I will take one step at a time. In addition to my new mantra, I have some other great tools that help me find peace and calm my anxiety. I just have to use them.

1. Deep breaths. People would tell me this, and I would quietly roll my eyes. My meditation today focused on deep breaths to reset and banish anxiety. While the guide talked a little too much and must think I can hold my breath for more than a minute, it worked. And in the past, I have used it successfully.

2. Fact check my thoughts. The first time someone told me that my thoughts were not facts, my head exploded. I had spent my life up to that point indulging every thought that came crashing into my mind. When I began to embrace this and question my thoughts, many of which were the result of years of conditioning, I felt an unbelievable freedom. Sometimes, however, I forget to let the thoughts just float by. So toda,y when the thought, "You suck because you didn't lift the weights," I will say, "Move on, buddy."

3. Get physical exercise, preferably outside. It's true. It works. Yesterday I was overcome with a whirring in my brain. I was frozen, but I had committed to a tennis match. When it was over, BAM. I felt great. But I need to reframe exercise. Make it about self-care not something that is a measurement of my self-worth. I need to take it where I can get it. I don't have to walk five miles and lift weights for an hour. I got out. I played tennis. I moved my body, and it was great.

There are other tactics that are effective, but I don't want to make the list too long. What do you do to stay centered and anxiety-free?