Three Good Habits To Get More Grounded
I drove myself all over the state of New Jersey and way up to Boston in a flurry of five days last week, so you can bet I was feeling a little disoriented come Monday.
I love being in constant motion. It makes me feel alive and vibrant, the opposite of stuck and stagnant, and I thrive on it. But it also creates some chaos to my habits and patterns that help me feel more focused and grounded.
So once I got back home, I started doing three things that always help me get my feet under me. And maybe they’ll help you, too, if you’re not already doing them or needed a reminder.
Prioritize sleep. From all the driving around and late nights and different sleeping arrangements, my rhythms got thrown off. And sleep deprivation or disruption is a recipe for decreased immune system which can lead to getting sick. Since I already got sick three times this winter (!), I am not having more of that. So as soon as I could, I reestablished my sleep schedule and put myself to bed on time. I also changed my sheets which ALWAYS guarantees a great night’s sleep for me.
Sleep is the best medicine: it’s cheap, free and extremely effective to help our bodies heal themselves.
Eat greens. When I’m on the road like I was last week, it was hard to find enough greens to meet my daily goals. Greens include kale, spinach, broccoli, etc. and I’ve gotten pretty good at getting at least two servings of them in each day. But last week I got all thrown off from the choices available to me, so I immediately bought myself two big containers of greens and have been gobbling them up the past few days. Greens cleanse the blood, increase our alkalinity and are just generally great for good gut health.
Practice breathing. The frenzy of running from one thing to the next is fun! I love it! I was so impressed how I pulled off such incredible feats of time management to squeeze so much in! I made everything work perfectly time-wise, including a full coaching schedule and lunch meetings and meals with friends. I did screw up one time and overbooked dinner plans with coaching sessions and had to disappoint myself and my friends. But we pivoted and will reschedule for another time. Can’t do it all perfectly, of course. But I noticed when the frenzy tipped the scales a bit and I started forgetting things because my brain was just fried. So I immediately forgave myself and started to practice breathing. The breathing brings in more oxygen and actually helps my brain calm down so I’m not in flight/fight/freeze mode (even in GOOD conditions, the brain just reacts the same) and can think more clearly and consciously. Just breathing helps me practice mindfulness to make the next best move.
Those three habits always help me get more grounded, even if I haven’t been running all over the place like I was last week. Life demands pull us out of alignment constantly and it’s up to us to practice good habits to find balance from one moment to the next.
See if these habits help you do this in your life. Which one can you practice starting right now? Taking action is always the best way to get grounded ASAP.