{"id":35653,"date":"2015-09-20T21:25:26","date_gmt":"2015-09-21T05:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=35653"},"modified":"2015-09-22T12:41:52","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T20:41:52","slug":"6-simple-pick-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/6-simple-pick-ups\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Simple Pick Me Ups"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><\/p>\n<p>Have you ever been here?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I must be at a critical point. I\u2019m on the verge of throwing in the towel, but that\u2019s just not an option.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Everyone (at least, everyone who\u2019s read <em>Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy<\/em> by Douglas Adams) knows that to survive in this galaxy, you\u2019ve got to know where your towel is. I\u2019m keeping mine! I\u2019ve spent plenty of time during my life feeling like I\u2019d rather be somewhere else, and by somewhere else, I mean somewhere other than in this body. Then again, I\u2019ve never felt too close to committing suicide even though, in theory, moving on sounds nice sometimes. I suppose that since I\u2019m here I\u2019d like to glean all the growth and experience everything I possibly can from this vantage point. I feel like giving up sometimes, though. I think we all do.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s times like these I remind myself that life knows more than I do. I know what seems to be going on isn\u2019t the only thing going on. A few ways I pick myself up follow. I hope they bring you inspiration get through the tough times. Use these, adapting them as you wish, or let them spark your creativity to find your own simple pick-me-ups.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Take a Nap<\/h2>\n<p>Emotions can wear me out! When I am feeling stressed because my business isn\u2019t growing as quickly as I\u2019d like or I\u2019m worried about how my life is going to get better, I can get downright exhausted. If I have a moment, I lie back, close my eyes, feel like I\u2019m sinking into the floor (or couch, bed, grass, wherever), and crazy dream or two later, I wake up hoping my spirit doesn\u2019t take too long to come back into my body. It\u2019s my way of surrendering to what\u2019s really going on when it seems like nothing is going on. I give my body a break and let my spirit go do its thing.<\/p>\n<h2>2. Meditate<\/h2>\n<p>When my thoughts spin and spin and spin, and I can\u2019t sleep, I meditate. There are many ways to meditate. One of my go-tos is a simple directed breathing meditation. Sometimes it only takes three breaths for me to feel centered, calm, balanced, and back to my typical easy-going self. All I do is choose a focus for my inhale and a focus for my exhale. My favorite these days is to focus on the sky or cosmos as I inhale and focus on the ground or Earth as I exhale. It gets me back to an accurate perspective of myself, reminding me that whatever I\u2019m going through is pretty small in the grand scheme of things.<\/p>\n<h2>3. Move<\/h2>\n<p>The law of inertia states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion, and an object at rest tends to stay at rest. It is so easy for me to mope about, wallowing in my own self-pity. It\u2019s not <em>fun<\/em>, though, and I know that the times I have the most resistance to moving are the times I need it most. I might go running or do some yoga, but sometimes it\u2019s as simple as picking myself up off the ground and starting a chore or calling a friend. I just need to do anything to move so my <em>stuckness<\/em> doesn\u2019t stick. If moving is just too much to ask, I revert to Number 1.<\/p>\n<h2>4. Do Nothing<\/h2>\n<p>Then there are the times when my thoughts are so overwhelming that I\u2019m not sure what to do. I have a credo: When you don\u2019t know what to do, don\u2019t do anything. I get overwhelmed when I feel like I need to be making something happen. A sample of my thoughts would be, \u201cI need to write more articles, I need to figure out how to promote, I need to get clients, I need to have a better schedule for laundry, I need to go shopping for clothes (which I HATE doing), I need to organize my projects, I need to you-name-it.\u201d Whoa! At times like these, when I feel like I\u2019m trying too hard or acting upon fear rather than inspiration, I watch a TV show or go for a walk or lie on the beach all day (if I have all day) and stop thinking about whatever has me overwhelmed. I make sure I allow these \u201cdo nothing\u201d times as I need them. If I do, my \u201cdo something\u201d times are all the more productive.<\/p>\n<h2>5. Play Music<\/h2>\n<p>Another failsafe. If I remember how effective music is, I do one of two things. I either play my guitar and sing a favorite song or two, or I play my phone and listen to a few songs or albums that I know always lift my mood. Singing along makes it work even better for me. Music is such a force for healing. It can shift me out of the lowest moods and metaphorically set me back on my feet when I\u2019ve metaphorically fallen.<\/p>\n<h2>6. Call Mom<\/h2>\n<p>I\u2019m blessed because I genuinely say my parents are the best ever! My mom is very wise and practical. She can flip the switch in an instant with what she says. I know she can help me get back to my senses when I\u2019ve strayed. It\u2019s comforting to speak my stuff out with someone I trust so thoroughly, and I naturally do what she always used to say as I was growing up: \u201cOh, lighten up.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I hope these ideas give you some inspiration for those days you\u2019re feeling anything but great. You know what you need to do. It\u2019s a matter of doing it, whether it\u2019s sleeping, talking, moving, anything or nothing at all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How you lift your mood?\u00a0 Comment below and share to Facebook or Twitter. Let\u2019s help each other out; we can all use a little inspiration sometimes.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/buf3Fr\"><em>Subscribe<\/em><\/a><em> to Laura Christine Waves of Healing and receive your FREE Quick Guide to Courage, a guide to boost your self-love and confidence to create a life you love.\u00a0 Laura Christine sends Waves of Healing through your body, mind and spirit with massage, yoga, nutritional guidance, coaching, writing and music. Steer yourself in the direction of a happy and meaningful life\u2014she\u2019ll show you how. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Visit <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.laurachristinewavesofhealing.com\"><em>www.laurachristinewavesofhealing.com<\/em><\/a><em>. Inspiration awaits you<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever been here?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I must be at a critical point. I\u2019m on the verge of throwing in the towel, but that\u2019s just not an option.&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/6-simple-pick-ups\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":35688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32,9,6],"tags":[4641,4581,46,4631,4618,66,4629],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>6 Simple Pick Me Ups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use these pick me ups to lighten your mood when you&#039;re feeling down\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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