Forced Stillness

This is the sixth installment of the Kayla’s Quick Reads series!  These posts are for the busy millennial in mind, designed to be read from top to bottom in 5 minutes or less.

I was sitting in my house during Hurricane Florence a few months ago, getting really close to the line between feeling grateful for the time to do nothing and feeling bored.  The next day, I woke up and used about half of the day to journal, get in touch with myself and with God.  I’ll admit, since starting graduate school, I haven’t been checking in with myself nearly as frequently as I should be.  Then I started to ask myself why that was the case.  I’m busy, sure.  But isn’t everyone busy?  Somehow along the way I lost track of my priorities and while that realization wasn’t sparked by a breakdown like it has been in the past (thankfully), I realized that if I didn’t get back on track, I could very easily end up there.

Life had been pretty demanding for me around that time.  I was (and still am) adjusting to a new space and new faces, new fears I’m facing, uncharted territory in many ways.  I know how to prepare for blizzards, tornadoes, and even earthquakes.  But never had I ever had to seriously prepare for a hurricane.  While I was grateful that we didn’t get the worst of it where I live, there was something about the forced stillness that caused me to get focused again.

Being home without a whole bunch to do really forced me to do nothing.  It was the weirdest yet most relaxing thing I’ve done in a long time. I took my time cleaning my space, took my time working on homework.  I watched YouTube videos and TED Talks that had been on my list for months, finished a couple books (yes, a couple in a matter of 5 days), and just took the time necessary to do small things that had been put off for so long.

I say all this to say that there is something special about forced stillness.  I didn’t choose to be home for 5 days.  Had the conditions outside been normal, I know for a fact that I would have been out and about, caught up in all the things I needed and wanted to do.  But life has a way of forcing you to make time for the things that matter, whether that be via natural disasters or breakdowns.  There’s something special about forced stillness.  When you feel overwhelmed or anxious or crowded mentally, take inventory before making the next move.  Perhaps you just need to be still so that your brain can settle and you can refocus.  Don’t push it off until the worst happens, be proactive and serve self without having to destruct first.

I’ve been working on my goals for 2019 for the past couple of weeks. For the last few years, I’ve tried to come up with goals that allow me to focus on getting things done and growing as a person without the stress associated with unrealistic potential. For 2019, I’m doing that and also being intentional about finding stillness, even if it must be forced. Things as simple as having quiet time when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed at night, actually practicing my daily affirmations and aspirations, and focusing on positive self-talk can make all the difference.

As we prepare to enter 2019, how are you going to force stillness in your life so that you can reach your greatest potential?

I hope you have a Happy New Year, and I’ll see you in 2019.

As always, thanks for journeying with me.