It’s safe to say that the current circumstances going on in the world are pretty tough and it’s impacting us all in different ways. It’s easy to get stuck in the victim mentality, feeling powerless and out of control, flat, unmotivated, and stressed out.
By Kat John, meditation expert
This is 100% understandable and I can find myself doing the same. From running a business to homeschooling to cancelling business plans, our wedding, and staying in lockdown for months, the external conditions can certainly start having an effect on the mind. However, staying in this thinking and feeling ain’t going to make anything better. This is where we need to take control of our mind and begin focusing on what matters.
Here are four ways to begin checking in with yourself and start focusing on what matters through meditation:
1. Take a minute or two
Put a song on that you love that makes you feel good and sit down in a space free from distractions (as best you can). Close down your eyes, take some slow big breaths in and out, do your best to relax your body and just be there for the whole song. When your mind wanders off and you start overthinking, come back to the song you’re playing and breathe. This is your moment to practice being in the now rather than in the past or future.
2. Let the emotions be there
When you’re feeling all the feels, it can be hard to clear your mind and think rationally, so give yourself the space to experience your feelings. Feelings are meant to be felt, so let anger, sadness, frustration, despair or whatever is there to be there and do your best not to judge them. You can play music to match your feelings as a way to allow yourself to feel them, or write them down in a journal to express and get them out.
3. How do you want to feel?
Ask yourself how you “want” to feel and decide on that feeling. Maybe you want to feel light, grounded, present, peaceful, or in-flow, yet how you’re currently feeling isn’t any of those. When you choose how you want to feel and then enquire into how you can act in favour of that chosen feeling, an answer will come. For example, if you’re currently feeling flat and you want to feel energised, ask yourself, “what can I do to be more in alignment with feeling energised?” Give yourself a moment to receive that answer and then act upon it.
4. Ask empowering questions
An empowering question I like to ask myself when I’m feeling really out of whack and in my head is, “if I was a powerful person, what would I do? What would my next best step be?” Stepping out of yourself when you feel lost or confused to imagine you are someone who is strong and capable can be empowering, and can give you the answers you were looking for all along. Take your answer and use it to propel you forward and take action in the direction of being the leader of your life.
Kat John is known for her real, raw, relatable approach to self-responsibility. She’s a meditation expert, coach, speaker, and founder of the ZEROFKS movement, where she gathers people around the world for a virtual dance party every Tuesday.
Join Kat for a virtual meditation session on World Mental Health Day, Saturday 10 October, in partnership with Snap Fitness and in support of mental health charity LIVIN.
