What are you really chasing?
The time we live in has been labelled “the age of anxiety.” It is no secret, and statistics agree that mental health disorders have escalated to an alarming rate both in adults and young people. On one level, it is painfully obvious as to why: the breakdown of community, the increase of media networks bombarding us with conflicting information, throw in a global pandemic, and Bob’s your uncle, absolute chaos.
While all this is going on, most of us binge-consume social media feeds full of all kinds of perfection: perfect lives, holidays, houses, children, butts, and so on. Now we have a reference for where we should be that is, at least in some way, a total contradiction to how we feel or where our lives truly are. Hmmm, I wonder if this dissonance is creating some of the mental health issues?
Now, throw in the cultural norm of reaching your goals (perfection at all costs) with intense business; calendars full, nervous systems supercharged with cortisol, and the lingering sense that we will never quite measure up. At some point, we should probably stop to ask ourselves, what are we really chasing?
Connection is the antidote
Could it be that underneath this scribbling noise of grown toddlers pretending to be professional at life, we really just desire connection? To be seen for who we are and to share that with others. I know groundbreaking stuff. Thank you, Brene Brown! More than this, it's to be connected to ourselves, to who we truly are rather than some projection patched together from all the influencer porn we have consumed. What if, instead of adding more to our lives, we started by eliminating things to make space for what is actually real, life-giving, connected.
5 Ways to Kick the Habit of Hustle
1. Eliminate hurry
For most of us, feeling charged to the max with cortisol, and other stress hormones, is so familiar we have forgotten what it feels like to not be jacked. Because of this, we have to purposefully slow down our lives. Start by weeding out of your life the things that are really not contributing to connection. You can go slow with this, but you will need to be ruthless and intentional. Is Netflix every night making you feel connected to yourself and your family? Maybe assign one night to eating a meal around the table playing a board game. Do you really need that extra HIIT workout in your week, maybe do a stretch class instead? Try to answer the question while making decisions: what is going to create more space in my life so I don’t have to hurry? The impact of this as a practice is exponential, and the benefits far outweigh any sense of sacrifice.
2. Put self-care in its correct context
We are all about self-care but often our self-care routines are only providing a breather from the disordered chaos we call our lives. What if self-care became the highest priority, not the lifeline? If we started to value self-care as a moment to detether from the overwhelming sense of responsibility we feel, to allow a little love, to be honest with ourselves about how we are going and to pursue genuine wisdom for how to orient our lives amid the challenges, we will be more equipped to engage our lives from clarity and strength. Easier said than done, but what other option do we have?
3. Live the future now
This is an ancient practice and is applied differently through the wisdom traditions. It involves taking the time to actually consider the person you want to be. Gaze into the future and think back on your life from that place, and ask yourself am I heading in the right direction?
4. Decide what is meaningful
From this, you might consider what is truly meaningful to you? What are your values? Do you value time with friends and family, for your kids to grow up having known you? Define these well, and they act as a kind of compass that helps you direct yourself in the moment.
5. The power of now
Finally, don’t wait for something to happen before you embrace the pause. You have got this, take action and get started on pruning your life. Start with eliminating the hurry and notice the clarity that starts to come (after the initial detox).
If this all seems too simplistic, it is to some extent, but it doesn’t mean it doesn't work. Sometimes it's hard to change anything, to slow down because we have experienced so much uncertainty that we opt for the certainty of our crazy life, rather than the uncertainty of a life full of potential and meaning. In other words, it can be far easier to just keep doing what we are doing because we find safety in what we know. I get it, but for the purpose of not being that old burnt out cranky person who hates life and everyone, it's worth it. So, embrace the power of the pause and reject hustle for the strength of stillness.
To practically slow down and connect to yourself why not try our Pilates Studio in Brisbane or if you are located elsewhere, check out our Online Studio!
To learn more about embodied practices to promote connection and stillness, check out Beyond Flexibility: The Holistic Benefits of Yoga for the Mind and Body and Embracing the Power of Slowness in Pilates.
