If you are feeling overwhelmed with your life or life in general, take note…

❤️   It is time to disconnect.

Stop reaching for your phone as soon as you wake up.  Although this seems trivial, it affects our minds and thought processes for the rest of the day.  Like many people I have FOMO (fear of missing out), mine is news FOMO.  What has gone on in the world that I have missed and need to respond to.  But do we have to respond to everything or anything at 6am in the morning?  Be discerning with the information you choose to focus on in the first few precious early hours.

I speak to many young people who feel inadequate because they think they should be “further than they are” in their careers or lives.  Much of this perspective is because of the constant media exposure to celebrities such as rappers, actors, musicians and millionaire/billionaire men and women who seem to have reached financial status and success over-night.  They have not.   Media reporting and social media are partly responsible for this myth.  If your motivation is money or fame, you will never be completely happy, and you will never have enough of either.  Enjoy the hard work and the journey rather than doing something to simply experience the results.  The percentage of people that can achieve their dreams in their twenties is very very slim, it is evolutionary and ongoing….and more importantly dreams change…

❤️   Create space for your passion, creativity and career, build it alongside your ‘job’.

There is very little correlation between the attention that people get online in the form of clickbait (for example retweets, likes, favourites, followers/’friends’) and whether they like you, your product or your service.  Ignore the metrics.  We have become too obsessed with measuring things and linking that to success without realising that some things that get counted don’t count.  As Andy Warhol says “Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.”

❤️   Write or post anything…whatever you have created and love, ignore popularity.

You might be wondering how to stop your mind from wondering or how to keep the world out when information is flooding in from several portals.  Whether you work, have young children, or are just not organized enough, creating a physical space such as a corner of the garden, coffee shop, library or chair in the lounge to escape is critical.  Keeping a schedule will help you feel in control – try the same time everyday or most days.

❤️   Decide what time you will escape alone and hide in your ‘alone space’ without devices.

Change your mindset about the world.  The world does not owe you anything but it wants you to notice it.  What can you give back to the world?  When you wake up, how about deciding that it will be the best day because it is the only day you have.  Yesterday has gone and tomorrow might never come.  When you open your eyes to the world, you can see suffering, death and despair or you can see hope because the world is better than it used to be.

❤️   Notice the smallest thing around you, take your time and ponder on its wonder.

Contact me with any questions or thoughts.

Image thanks to Amy K