Breathe, Just Breathe…
Originally posted Sept 2015; Updated January 2024
After a long day of meetings, client sessions, writing projects and generally feeling very overwhelmed, I put my Apple Music on shuffle and the first song that came up was T Swift’s "Breathe" followed by Ingrid Michaelson’s "Keep Breathing" and then Journeys’ "Don't Stop Believing.” Coincidence? I think not.
It was the universe reminding me that everything is going to be OK. All you have to do is breathe, do the best you can, and trust in the process. We don't need to have or know all the answers (I know - easier said than done) to still be content and fulfilled. Our job is to keep breathing, be present, honor our true self, and enjoy the journey.
Last blog, I introduced the concept of self talk. I discussed its importance in building your confidence through positive thoughts and how negative thoughts can lead to a downward spiral. I would like to offer you some specific tools so that you can build a strong practice and train your mind to work for you, not against you.
The first tool is to create a personal litany. A litany is a group of positive statements for you to say to yourself silently or out loud. You can also think of these as your personal mantras or affirmation statements. They help to increase your self-confidence by utilizing positive self talk and to help bring you back to a more grounded and centered place when you are feeling dysregulated.
The litany statements can be for a specific aspect of your life: career, love, personal, etc. For example, if you are trying to change to a healthier lifestyle you may have ones like, “I am taking action to create healthy habits,” or “I know there will be days where I struggle. That it is OK because I am strong, and I know I can do this.” The statements can also be more generic and incorporate all aspects of your life. For example, “I choose love over fear,” or “I know I may feel overwhelmed at times, but it is OK because I have the tools to work through it,” or my personal favorite, “I am safe.”
The important thing is to make sure the statements are affirmative and written in the present tense.
Once you have created your litany statements, hang them up where you can see them every day or write them out in the Notes section of your phone so you can access them easily. For this tool to work, you need to say them every day, maybe several times a day, and make it a practice. The more we say these affirmations or mantras, the more we believe them, embody them, and the more powerful they become when we need them the most.
Take the next few minutes and create a litany for yourself. Commit to saying them every day for a week. Then check in and see how you feel. Write your observations down. These are just observations used for self-reflection, not judgment.