Are You Going In The Same Circle?
"No, not this time."
If someone were to ask me a few months ago “Have you ever found yourself going in the same circle?”
I would reply, “Yes, so much so that I can’t even keep count.”
I’ve experienced stress and anxiety way too many times and always lookout for practices that’ll help me feel better and support my wellbeing in the long run.
However, it’s extremely difficult to part ways with and replace habits and patterns, even if they’re unhealthy and toxic, if that’s all you've ever known.
When I do practice what’ll help me heal and grow, old habits and patterns lure me back in, and hence, why I find myself going in the same circle.
It takes a great deal of inner strength, commitment, discipline, perseverance, and resilience to uphold new practices.
Several months ago, I started a few new practices to help ease my stress and anxiety.
I began to wake up two hours before work to have enough time to do my hair, put on make-up, dress up, and make breakfast, rather than 30-minutes before only to throw my hair in a bun, and wear the same sweatshirt and jeans almost every day.
I also began a nighttime wind down routine, where I stretch and read to relax my body and mind, instead of eating sweets while watching Netflix right before going to sleep.
It was about a month in when I started falling prey to old habits and patterns, and instantly, I felt unhappy and miserable, once again.
One day, sulking in unhappiness and misery, I sighed, and said to myself out of loud, “I keep going in the same circle.”
I had become so tired of my own behavior and actions.
I knew I needed to change for my own good.
I further said out loud with a firm tone of voice, “No, not this time.”
So, here I am, keeping at it. It hasn’t been easy, but worth my while.
While it’s extremely difficult to make a choice to be and do better, it takes everything in you to keep at it.
Going in the same circle will make you feel unsteady and uneasy.
The key is awareness.
When you’re aware that you’ve been going in the same circle, consider that a win, because that awareness ignites the commitment within you to make changes.
When you fall prey to old habits and patterns, that same awareness will ignite the discipline within you to allow you to push through and past the point where you find yourself at the beginning of the same circle.
It’s being aware of how you feel, whether stressed, anxious, unhappy, and/or miserable, and knowing that you don’t want to keep feeling that way.
It’s being aware of what behaviors and actions are making you feel unsteady and uneasy.
It’s being aware of what changes you need to make for your own good,
It’s being aware of when old patterns and habits try to lure you back in.
It’s being aware of how you can continue to be and do better and push through obstacles and challenges for your overall wellbeing.
With Love,
Jasmine
I’m currently reading Letting Go by David R. Hawkins, which is really helping me practice letting go and being more present.
I’m also currently reading a few pages of A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh by Dr. Joseph Parent and Nancy Parent to help calm my nerves and wind down before bed. If you grew up watching Winnie the Pooh like me, then you’ll love reading it, too!
See more of my work here: https://linktr.ee/Jasminekaurtoday.