Keep it simple, sweetheart.
KISS - short for KEEP IT SIMPLE SWEETHEART was a term I learned some years back from a shaman. When we think of this term, you may wonder what exactly to keep simple? The answer is: everything! Invite simplicity into your life, into your projects, your business, your home, your closet, your routines, your mind, your heart in order to travel lighter through life. How to actually do that? I shared my best practice tips with you here:
1. Embrace minimalism
Just think about it: Every little item you own is in your care. Owning things comes with responsibility. And sometimes just the mere existence of unused workout gear lying around your house, silently shaming you every time you pass it, can cause you stress. Since I moved into a smaller place, I consciously cleared out my closet and let go of furniture and things I no longer need. It's not only fun to try to live with fewer things, but you also have much more space to enjoy in your home when you feng shui your life a bit. I noticed that I always wear the same 3-5 favorite outfits and that I don't need 20 plates, but 5 is totally enough, even when I have friends over. So enjoy the process of observing what you use and how often in a week. How many items do you actually need and want to take care of? What can you reduce or let go of?
2. Clear your schedule
Stress is also caused when your work and life schedule becomes too full. I don't mean the good kind of stress, but the stress you feel when you notice that things aren't fun anymore, when you've lost your flow. To manage a lot of things in life, your body needs enough rest, food, and exercise. As cyclists, we also need to consider that our energy levels vary from week to week. So make sure you don't overload yourself in a week when you are super fit. Keep some space for relaxation and for days off, for the lower weeks in your month. If you catch yourself complaining about your busy schedule, you can either try to reframe it and remember that you wanted this epic project and that you look forward to getting it done and then also reward yourself for it. However, if you feel like everything is an obligation and life overwhelms you, please slow down and look where you can empty your schedule a bit, in order to reduce the stress.
3. Track your energy level
Besides the material and outside world, we also carry a lot of other emotional baggage with us, which silently stresses our nervous system. Remember: Your inner world creates the world around you. So how you feel has an effect on how you respond to life and also how the world around you responds to you. If you are stressed, you miss a lot of things because you are in a stress tunnel of getting stuff done. This is called life on autopilot or also life in fight or flight mode. Some people are so used to this mode or even addicted to this feeling of adrenaline on a daily basis. No wonder, because we live in a society that glorifies being busy. However, you can get a lot done in a relaxed flow state too. For that, you need to step out of the drama cycle and become aware of what you are actually doing and how your energy level is. That is the reason why I ask my clients at the beginning of a session how their energy level is on a scale from 1 to 10. You can do that too as a practice for yourself on a daily basis. Tracking it is even better; study yourself and then make healthier decisions for yourself.
4. LET GO OF TRAUMA
I was so stressed in the past, because that's what I learned from my upbringing and society. I had to be on time, be good, put others' needs first, and be perfect. I wasn't aware that I had PTSD until I understood that my trauma was limiting my experience of life. My nervous system became overwhelmed very quickly, I had anxiety and, at peak times, panic attacks. On a lower level, a drama cycle started that triggered my emotions through a negative thought or word/behavior from others. Then my inner critic beat myself up and finally my body reacted to it with coping mechanisms like weird symptoms or inflammations. Remember: Your beautiful body is so highly intelligent that it compensates for all your stress. Yet, it has a limit, and when that limit is reached, it copes in other ways, such as becoming ill. The body always knows; we just need to listen and treat it better. Treat ourselves better and create balance in our lives. That is why somatic work became my favorite method of stress release on my healing journey. Yes, it is actually through the body that you can most easily release suppressed emotions. Yoga and breathwork are great methods to come back into the body and let go of extra baggage that you have been carrying around for too long. That's why I offer these simple tools to others, in order to let go of stress, regulate the nervous system, and prevent it in the long term.
Discover for yourself by joining one of my breathwork classes on Tuesday mornings from 8 to 9 a.m. or book a private session with me.
Take good care of yourself and keep it simple, sweetheart :)
Annabelle
P.S. I'm curious: What would you like to reduce in your life? Please share in the comment section.