Anxiety Coping Tips: How To Step Out Of Fear And Back Into The Present Moment

Anxiety Coping Tips: How To Step Out Of Fear And Back Into The Present Moment

by | Apr 11, 2020 | Wellbeing

Becoming more self-aware, self-empowered, resilient and mindful – more conscious – often requires you to go against your fight/flight knee-jerk responses, which is hard. Particularly now when everyone around you is in panic and fear-brain mode. To help you be better equipped to do this, below are my top 5 Anxiety Coping Tips which will not only help you get more grounded and calm, they will set you up with some practical mindfulness skills that will serve you for the rest of your life. 

 

5  ANXIETY COPING TIPS

 

Anxiety Coping Tip 1 –

Stop Being Glued to the TV And Get Inner Focused

If you’ve been watching too much mainstream news and find it’s starting to govern your life, it’s time to stop doing this as it’s most likely stressing you out and exhausting your nervous system.  Learn the key points of what you need to know about this and what’s applicable to you and then switch off the media hype and all the noise. Mainstream media is designed to sensationalize, catastrophize and hypnotize you by amplifying all the fears, concerns and potential worst-case-scenarios playing out constantly in the back of your subconscious mind. This kind of daily mental diet is just not good for your body, your mind or your present and future life. Because fear, worry and stress all compromise the immune system, self-confidence and resilience.

 

Anxiety Coping Tip 2 –

Have Empathy for Yourself and Others

This current situation has triggered a roller coaster of emotions in most people which is a normal human response to such a perplexing, large-scale event.  When you allow yourself and others to have normal human emotions without judgement it creates space for you to then connect in with yourself, side-step all the fear-based thinking that the atmosphere has been saturated with and sink back into the power of the present moment. You’re then far better equipped to cultivate an ‘Inner Focus’ which stops you from being tossed around inside from constantly focusing on the outer environment.

The restructuring of our time and activities because of the current situation presents a rare opportunity to have more solitude and downtime to take a break from all the external noise and often mindless, habitual busyness of daily life and shift your focus within. Because that’s when you can finally access your intuition, your power, your inspiration – and importantly find some inner peace and calm. 

Going within, staying in the present and not getting constantly swept up and over-stimulated by what’s being conveyed on the tv gives you the space to also think with more objectivity and discernment. When you can disengage from the collective herd mentality, you’re better positioned to think and respond in more constructive, resilient, creative and innovative ways.

Sometimes that means just pressing the pause button until what you need to do next, what’s best for you and the people you care about, emerges from your own inner wisdom and guidance system. It’s not being constantly run and distressed by external noises and cues.

 

Anxiety Coping Tip 3 –

Become the Gatekeeper of  the Quality of Your Thinking

You can’t be fearful, anxious and in the present moment at the same time. Eckhart Tolle

To adapt, thrive and constructively deal with whatever life’s throwing your way it’s vital to become  the gatekeeper of the quality of your thinking. It’s learning how to recognize when you’ve been suddenly overtaken by debilitating, repetitive, fear-based thoughts.

Because if you don’t work at becoming more conscious, then you can’t step outside all of the constantly looping fear-based and negative thinking that’s going on inside your head.  

For certain things in life, we don’t always have control over whether something will happen or not. So whenever your thinking has been hijacked by negative thoughts, you need to remind yourself that your point of power is always in the present moment – so that you don’t keep defaulting to fear-brain thinking.

You have amazing resources within you that you’re probably not even fully aware of. Perhaps you already are. But if you’re really struggling at the moment with seeing yourself in an empowered way, then this is the perfect time to start.

But to do this, you need to disengage from all the external noise and turn your focus inward.

 

Anxiety Coping Tip 4 – 

Believe in Yourself

Believing that you’re an intelligent and capable human being who can handle whatever happens next will boost your self-confidence, self-worth and capabilities beyond what you thought was possible for you. It just takes time and practice because it’s often not easy to do straight away, particularly if you’re struggling wth low self confidence or you didn’t grow up around confident, can-do adults who modelled what self-belief looks like in real life to you.

The most potent thing you can control is your state of being and the quality of your consciousness in the present moment. Being able to master this gives you the luxury and advantage of being able to choose how you respond to things, rather than being stuck in reactive, stressed out mode.

Authentic self-belief requires becoming self-aware, which is one of the most worthwhile and life-changing decisions you’ll ever make.  It just takes persistence, practice and a real desire for personal growth and all the benefits and rewards that come with this. Choosing to become more conscious will improve your personal life, relationships, coping skills and your wellbeing. 

Never has there been a more perfect time to have anxiety coping tips that actually work, so that you can take advantage of this perplexing situation and connect with your heart and deeper wisdom. Something you’re only able to do by focusing inwards and adopting a calmer, more grounded and embodied stance.

 

Anxiety Coping Tip 5 – 

Become Aware of What You’re Telling Yourself Each Day

 

Your reality becomes shaped by what you keep telling yourself every single day. And much of this is influenced by the quality and style of stories you absorb from the tv, news and mainstream media. Now is the time to do a self-audit and detox your mind.

Becoming more aware of the rubbish that’s floating around in your mind each day – and of the quality of information you’re regularly exposing your subconscious to – is the fastest way to disengage from fearful, anxious, distorted and sensationalized thinking that just isn’t serving you, or where you’re wanting to go in life.

It allows you to step back into the present moment which is where you’re able to access and cultivate empowering, positive, high-quality thinking that transforms your consciousness, your life and your world.

Learning how to do this consistently will not only bring you more peace and calm, it will dramatically raise the quality of your daily thinking and your present and future life.

If you’re struggling to apply these anxiety coping tips and simply can’t find relief or a sense of purpose in such turbulent and uncertain times, I’m here to support you. To find out more, click here. 

If you found my Top 5 Anxiety Coping Tips useful, please share this article with someone who could benefit. 

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A Quick Energetic Reboot For Busy People In A Stressed Out World

A Quick Energetic Reboot For Busy People In A Stressed Out World

by | Dec 17, 2019 | Wellbeing

It’s hard not to get drawn into everything that’s going on in the world at the moment where feelings of stress and overwhelm can become your default emotional state.

 

As well as depleting our energy physically, mentally and emotionally it’s also affecting how we view everything in life, including our confidence levels and optimism for the future.

 

If you want to regain control and manage your emotional wellbeing in an uncertain and at times highly chaotic world, then it’s important to know how to do an energetic reboot to feel grounded, more confident and centred. Start here with the energy detox and energetic reboot steps outlined in this article. Your brain, body, soul and business will thank you for it.

 

3 Steps For An Energetic Reboot In A Stressed Out World

1.   Eliminate Your Tolerations

Take some quiet time to look at what’s going on in your life and what you’re tolerating. Do a ‘Tolerations Audit’. Make a list of all the things that are making you feel resentful, annoyed, drained and uninspired. Include clutter in your list, it’s one of the biggest energy drains of all for women in particular.

 

Commit to releasing everything that you’ve been tolerating in your environment, relationships and at work so that you’re not suppressing your feelings and getting drained energetically and emotionally.

 

If there’s something that you absolutely can’t release, then be proactive and see how you can change your attitude or approach so that it’s no longer annoying and depleting you.

 

 2.  Make Self Care A Priority

With so much uncertainty and chaos in the world, self care is NOT something to put last on your ‘To Do List’. It’s essential. Regularly take time out to nourish and restore. Whether that be spending time in nature, listening to music that relaxes you, journalling, practicing yoga or other mindfulness-based activities that help you focus on the breath and stay present in the moment.

 

3.  Tune Into Your Body’s Wisdom

Your gut feel, intuition and feelings are powerful sources of information for letting you know when you’re on track and when you’ve gone in the wrong direction. Being aware of what you’re feeling in the moment and why is a powerful way to identify what kinds of things are draining your energy and what energizes and inspires you.

 

It’s about developing an ‘Inner Focus’ rather than being tossed around by constantly focusing on the outer environment. If you’re finding this a bit of a stretch, then moving forms of meditation (like tai chi and yoga) that involve your body, mind and breath are a great way to start learning how to deeply tune into what your body is trying to tell you.

 

The latest research in neuroscience shows that the most optimal brain states that enhance creativity, thinking breakthroughs, mental agility and resilience occur when you’re relaxed and in the present – not when you’re continuously outer focused and stressed.

 

Applying these steps and making them part of your daily/weekly routine will give you the energetic reboot that’s essential for coping and thriving in a stressed out world.

 

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Spiritual Cleansing of Negative, Toxic Energy. Why it’s Important for Your Brain

Spiritual Cleansing of Negative, Toxic Energy. Why it’s Important for Your Brain

by | Oct 24, 2017 | Wellbeing

 

Are you feeling stressed and energetically bombarded by everything that’s going on around you at the moment? If you can relate, then it’s important to set aside time to reconnect with what nourishes you on a more spiritual level. Because stress and living in constant overdrive is not only bad for your mindset and general health, it’s hurting your brain.

Here’s why self care really matters and isn’t something to put last on your ‘To Do List’ :

Studies in brain science show that optimal brain states occur when you’re relaxed. That’s when you’re the most creative, can think outside the box, and come up with genius ideas and solutions. It’s also when you’re the most centred, grounded, and connected to your very core.

Stress is a precursor to anxiety and negative, toxic thinking. All of which impacts you on a molecular level. When you’re consumed by negative, toxic thoughts and feelings, it constricts your brain’s ability to function at it’s best. It narrows your awareness and focus (resulting in tunnel vision), and your ability to dream big and visualize positive outcomes. You start to believe your own negative scripts around what’s possible and what’s not.  

Doing regular self care is vital to good brain function and a healthy, expansive, enriched life. It’s what allows you to BE in the moment, and open to possibilities. You’re also able to step out of the chaos and think clearly and see what needs to be simplified. And it’s a solid way to build your confidence and improve your self image.

If you’re ready to clear out the negative toxic energy in your life, here are 3 things you can do to get off the treadmill of stress and overwhelm and into more optimal ways of being:

3 Steps to Spiritual Cleansing and a Healthy Brain

1.   Be honest with what’s not working for you

Take some quiet time alone to be really honest with what’s going on in your life. Make a list of all the things that are making you feel resentful, exhausted, flat, or uninspired. Decide what you need to release so you can make space for what’s personally rewarding and authentic to you.

 2.  Know what nourishes you

Spend time in an environment where you can unplug, relax, and be in the moment. This might be in nature, by the ocean, or listening to calming music. Journal what nourishes and inspires you, and how you can bring more of this into your life on a regular basis.

3.  Listen to your body every day

Your body is your most reliable barometer for letting you know when you’re on the right track, or heading off course. Tuning into what you’re feeling in the moment is a powerful way to grow awareness around how your thoughts and behaviours impact your feelings. It will help you identify what’s draining your energy, and what you need to release. It’s about shifting your focus away from the outer environment and taking the time to tune into what’s going on inside you. And if you find this difficult to do, yoga, tai chi and other forms of moving meditations are great ways to get started.

Knowing what de-stresses and nourishes you lets you be the best version of you. It enriches your brain, your outcomes and the quality of your entire future life.

 

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3 Ways To Invest in Your Wellbeing And Stay Motivated

3 Ways To Invest in Your Wellbeing And Stay Motivated

by | Jan 4, 2017 | Wellbeing | 0 comments

It’s hard to stay motivated when you haven’t been investing in your wellbeing. Maybe you’ve experienced the inertia and lack-lustre approach to life that comes from neglecting your wellbeing? Just getting caught up in everyday life?

Your sense of self is shaped by your body and your most important relationships and experiences. It’s not just about your brain and changing your thinking.

Exercise / physical activity is a must-do to stay motivated, optimistic and focused on your goals.

Because when you stop investing in your own wellbeing, you often end up hitting invisible barriers and getting stuck. That’s when your fear of failure starts to set in. There’s a direct relationship between staying motivated and succeeding in life and the quality of your daily habits, your thinking, and your social environment.

Focusing on your wellbeing is a mindset and lifestyle choice. It’s about choosing to look after yourself in a more conscious and mindful way.

The good news is you can fix this easily.

 

3 Ways To Invest In Your Wellbeing And Stay Motivated

 

#1  Don’t Isolate Yourself

One of the quickest ways to step over your own thinking habits and stay motivated is to connect with creative, motivated people. They see things from multiple perspectives. They are people who are able to hold space for you, help you clarify your own thinking, and open up a whole new world of fresh, creative solutions and ideas. It is these conversations that have you walking away with a brand new take on things, feeling energized and optimistic about what’s possible for you. Investing in good quality relationships with people who want you to succeed is a sure-fire way to avoid self-limiting thinking or beliefs. It gets you thinking more creatively, outside the box. When you try and solve a problem in isolation from your fixed level of awareness, you usually find that six months later you’re still in the same spot, feeling even more frustrated and demotivated. In some cases this is dangerous.

 

#2 Get Healthy and Fit

Physical fitness has a direct impact, not only on your health, but also on the strength and flexibility of your mind and wellbeing. It improves your levels of self-mastery. Exercise gets those valuable endorphins kicking in, lifting your mood and in turn making you feel more positive and self-confident. Going to the gym, exercising outdoors, swimming and other types of physical activities are all great ways to get you out of negative, self-limiting thinking habits. Similarly, yoga, qigong and tai chi that cultivate meditation and mindfulness are also beneficial. Any type of physical activity where you have to focus on your body and your breath and be more mindful is ideal. It gets you into the present moment, clears your mind, and helps you see things differently. It’s about finding things that you genuinely enjoy so that you’ll commit to doing them regularly. Daily rhythms are becoming increasingly important in a complex and constantly changing world. Regular routines make you feel more grounded and focused, regardless of what’s going on around you.

 

#3 Have A Purpose

You achieve your best by being really clear on why you’re doing what you do every day. Having a clear purpose in life is what keeps you motivated and optimistic, even when things aren’t going exactly as you want them to. It’s about having a purpose and mission in life. Whether that’s being a great parent to your kids, being your best self to the people you care about most, or wanting to positively impact the world via your career and business. Having a purpose is what gives your life direction and meaning. This is because you know what really matters the most to you and why. It’s when you’re feeling motivated, useful and purposeful that you’re able to thrive and be your best.

 

A version of this article was featured in the December 2016 issue of The Sydney Standard.

 

 

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5 Reasons To Stop Spending Time With Negative People

5 Reasons To Stop Spending Time With Negative People

by | Nov 15, 2016 | Wellbeing | 0 comments

Are you tired of negative people draining you of your energy and enthusiasm for life? Maybe you’ve spent way too long politely and stoically listening to them? Hoping that they will finally ease up on dumping their negative vibes all over you? But they don’t.

If you’re nodding your head in agreement, then it’s time to limit your exposure to negative people, or in some cases disengage from them entirely. Because the impacts of spending too much time around negative people can be insidious and long-lasting:

5 Top Reasons To Stop Spending Time With Negative People

# 1 Increased Self-Doubt

When you’re pioneering your own path in life and feeling a bit vulnerable because you’re venturing into the unknown, it doesn’t take much for a negative person’s remark or disapproving vibe to trigger self doubt in you. It can make you start questioning whether the path you’ve chosen is the right one for you. If you don’t limit your exposure to toxic negative people by setting good boundaries, you can end up losing a lot of precious time second-guessing yourself and your decisions. Robbing you of your optimism and natural exuberance for life.

# 2 Low Self-Esteem

When the negative people in your life are family members, not getting their validation and approval can erode your self-esteem and self-confidence. If this is the case, you need to get some distance from them so you can grow your own psychological roots, and a more robust level of self-esteem. It’s about intentionally disengaging from the negative thinking patterns and beliefs that have been unconsciously passed down from one generation to the next.

#3 Compromised Wellbeing

Negative thinking is bad for your brain. So it’s important to be aware of what you’re thinking and what ideas and views you’re absorbing from other people. Good mental health and overall wellbeing requires positive, optimistic thinking. Repetitive toxic thinking is like a virus. It can deplete you physically and emotionally and compromise your immune system.

#4 Restlessness And Discontent

Regular exposure to negative thinking messes with your desire nature. When this happens it doesn’t matter what opportunities come your way, nothing ever seems quite right for you, or good enough. You struggle to value what you’ve already achieved. You’re always feeling restless and never quite satisfied.

# 5 Abandoning Your Dreams

There’s nothing more demotivating and draining than ending up on the wrong pathway in life because you’ve spent too much time listening to negative people. If this is you, then you need to get back on the right track. Because the longer you leave it, the bigger the task of course-correcting and realigning with your dreams and vision of how you want your life to be.

 

You are constantly being imprinted and shaped by the 3-5 people you spend the most time with. So if you’re wanting to live a positive, self-directed and successful life, you need to be around like-minded, optimistic people who support and encourage you. Doing this will accelerate your growth like nothing else. You’ll also feel happier, more confident and fulfilled.

 

Title image by Sarah Williams

 

 

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5 Ways To Stay Motivated And Invest In Your Wellbeing

5 Ways To Stay Motivated And Invest In Your Wellbeing

by | Apr 30, 2016 | Wellbeing | 0 comments

One of the trickiest things in life can be finding ways to stay motivated when you haven’t been investing in your wellbeing. Focusing on your wellbeing is a mindset and lifestyle choice. Looking after yourself in a conscious and mindful way.

Choosing to invest in your mindset and wellbeing is probably one of the most empowering and potent decisions you’ll ever make. Because staying positive and on track has a ripple effect. How much you focus on and invest in your mindset and wellbeing not only impacts the quality of your present, it powerfully impacts your entire future life.

It’s when you don’t commit to regularly investing in yourself and your wellbeing that it can be hard to stay motivated. It’s easier to lose your mojo and optimism. Negatively impacting your business, your results, your career, your relationships and your ability to handle the ups and downs of life. Particularly when things don’t go your way and it can seem like an impossible task to feel positive and optimistic about yourself and your future. And when you continuously neglect your wellbeing, you get disconnected from your true self, your body and your feelings – and what they are trying to tell you. Negative moods just seem to spring out of nowhere. You’re more easily discouraged and pushed around by your emotions and other people’s negative vibes.

Taking your mindset and wellbeing seriously changes your life in positive and powerful ways. It makes you mentally and physically stronger and naturally more optimistic. You stay motivated. You’re more resourceful and tenacious. Things that used to make you feel frustrated and powerless just don’t have the same impact. Sure, you still feel life’s challenges and setbacks, but when you’ve invested in yourself, your mindset and your wellbeing, you have far more self-confidence and inner reserves to deal with whatever life throws your way.

If you’ve been neglecting your wellbeing and stuck in a bit of a funk, here’s how you can set yourself up for better health, mental resilience and success in the areas of life that matter the most to you:

5 Ways To Stay Motivated And Invest In Your Wellbeing

1#  Think outside the status quo of your subconscious mind

One of the quickest ways to get out of your own way and get re-inspired is to connect with positive people who get you and support you. You know, the types of people who are able to snap you out of any ‘glass-half-empty’ style thinking and offer helpful solutions and ideas around whatever it is that you’re dealing with. You walk away from these types of conversations energized, with fresh perspectives, feeling more positive about what’s possible. When you invest in good quality relationships it’s a sure-fire way to not get seduced into thinking you can sort things out on your own. Only to find months, sometimes years down the track, nothing has really changed and that you’re still stuck in the same old patterns. Our minds are very convincing. We can talk ourselves into ridiculously negative and self-defeating things, because of faulty subconscious beliefs that we’ve absorbed from other people growing up.

Powerful conversations have been shown to be instrumental in rewiring your brain and thinking. They literally build in new neural pathways. So be selective with who you interact with.

#2 Get Fit And Grounded

It’s well researched that physical fitness and wellbeing have a direct impact on the strength and flexibility of your mind. Exercise gets those valuable endorphins kicking in, lifting your mood and in turn making you feel more positive and self-confident. Things like going to the gym, exercising outside in nature, swimming, yoga, tai chi are all great ways to get you out of over-thinking and analysis paralysis. They ground your energy and stop you from getting stuck in your head. Find something you genuinely enjoy and do it regularly. It’s important that you find a style that works for you so that you stick with it. Rhythms are good for your brain. They also make you feel grounded and secure on a deep level. Committing to regular fitness and spiritual practices changes your life in amazing ways. Particularly if you’re feeling anxious, depressed or insecure. They are game-changers. Clear thinking and optimism become your new norm when you’re active and fit.

#3 Listen To Your Intuition

How many times have you found that the little voice deep inside of you that said “No”, but you went ahead and did it anyway, was RIGHT? Just about everyone can relate to this. It’s time to view your intuition as a valuable data source that you need to stop and listen to. When you’re grounded and feeling strongly connected with your centre, your intuition or gut feel on things becomes much clearer. And when you learn how to respond to what it is telling you, your inner certainty around decision making and life increases.

#4 Take Responsibility For Charting Your Own Course In Life

When you take full ownership for your life and the choices you’ve made to date it’s one of the most empowering and freeing things you’ll ever do. It promotes high-end self acceptance. And it’s from this stance that you can re-ignite your self-confidence and self-belief. It’s about accepting that you’re not perfect, and nor is anyone else. Committing to learning from failures and setbacks and doing things differently next time. When you’re not constantly judging and criticising yourself, beating yourself up on the inside, your wellbeing thrives. You’re more relaxed and open to try new things. And that’s when life opens up new possibilities that you couldn’t have even imaged when you were stuck in negative thinking loops. You also start to have more fun.

#5 Know Your Big Why

This is one of the most effective techniques for being able to do sustainable endurance. Which is what in reality is required for going for something that really matters to you. Being really clear on WHY you’re doing something is what keeps you motivated and optimistic, even when just about everything seems to be going wrong, or just not happening when you want it to. Nature has seasons and cycles and we’re part of the same ecological system. It’s learning to recognize where you’re at in these different cycles. Sometimes you’re required to just focus on preparing the soil, doing the necessary ground work. Not always exciting, right. Then when the soil is rich and full of nutrients, putting in the seeds. Then you have to wait. There’s a PAUSE. It’s the incubation phase where it looks like absolutely nothing is happening, but that’s not the case at all. And sometimes the crop fails so you learn from this and do things differently next time. That’s just life. But when you know your big why, you just keep going, fine-tuning and course correcting where necessary.

People with the most resilience and mental agility are the ones that get the best outcomes and results, again and again. Particularly when it comes to leadership and business. Some people view this as “luck”. It’s not as simple or random as that. It’s about consistently committing to up-levelling your thoughts and your daily self care. Being aware of what choices you’re making every single day. When you become more mindful of what you think and how you do life, you start to enjoy optimum levels of thinking, mental health and wellbeing. Qualities that are becoming increasingly essential for thriving and succeeding in a world of over-stimulation, uncertainty and where more and more people are feeling less-than and insecure.

 

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