The App That’s Keeping Me “Cool”
Or as they say, “cool as a cucumber.”
I've been doing some new things with my business. If the goofy photo didn’t give it away, one of those new things is playing around on Canva to create more original content to post on social media for the new part of my business.
These new things are exciting and motivating but also overwhelming. They’re overwhelming for good reasons - because I'm learning new things and stepping out of my comfort zone - but overwhelming, none the less.
I've continued to do my main daily self-care routine, which includes getting 8 hours of sleep every night, doing some kind of intentional movement, and drinking lots of water every day.
However, with the addition of this new overwhelm, I decided I wanted to do something more. I wanted to take care of this overwhelm before it started to have negative impacts on me, personally and or professionally.
One way I did this was by starting to use an app that I (admittedly) haven't used in almost one year! 🙈
Yes, even therapists don’t stay on top of healthy self-care habits all the time.
So, last week, for the first time in almost 12 months, I opened the Calm app. It has been sitting on my phone, patiently waiting for me to come back. And I’m so glad that I did.
I have been doing short breathing exercises (only 2 minutes!) before going to sleep and after waking up in the morning. And already, I feel calmer, more relaxed, and well rested.
With the same amount of sleep, I've been waking up feeling ready to get out of bed to get my day started. I don't know about you, but starting the day that way makes a huge difference for how the rest of my day goes.
I share this with you as a reminder that:
You can go back to or start new self-care habits anytime.
Calm, and other similar apps, really do help.
You don't need a ton of time to take care of yourself - even 2-4 minutes each day can make a difference.
I also think this is a helpful reminder that it's okay to take a break from habits sometimes.
You don’t have to be perfect to have good habits. Two things that are very common with trying to be perfect are rigid thinking patterns and self-criticism. And I’ve seen so many people get stuck in “all or nothing” thinking patterns when it comes to creating and maintaining habits.
They eat a donut one day, and they stop trying to eat healthy foods altogether or think things like “Well, I guess I’ll have to start over tomorrow or next week then.” Or they stop going to the gym for a few weeks and don’t go back again.
Believe me, I get it. I used to have similar thoughts that kept me from going back to things after I “slipped up” even once. Since I’ve been able to change my thinking patterns, I’ve been so much happier and well balanced.
I don’t need to go to the “gym” (now to the basement home gym) every day. I can miss one day, and even plan to not go every day, and I know that I’ll go back the following day.
For this reason, I believe that there are three important parts to moving away from “all or nothing” and other rigid thinking when it is related to habits.
Self-trust
Flexibility
Self-compassion
It’s important to gain trust in yourself by building your self-worth and self-confidence. You can also gain trust by telling yourself that it’s okay that you missed going to the gym (or taking a walk or meditating or fill in the blank) and that you’ll do it the next time you planned to go.
It’s important to work on being more flexible in your thinking. Remember that having good habits does not mean being perfect. It doesn’t mean that you have to do the same routine of healthy habits every day or else you’re a failure and you shouldn’t even try anymore.
It’s more about being kind to yourself and picking yourself back up when you do have a day where, for whatever reason, you aren’t able to complete the habit.
Since I’ve been able to come back to using the Calm app again, it has reignited my enjoyment and excitement about using it.
I look forward to doing the breathing exercises, and I'm looking forward to using the other tools the app has to offer, too, like movement based and short meditation exercises.
When you have a moment, take some time to reflect on this for your own experience. Some questions you might ask yourself or journal about are:
What are my current self-care habits?
What would I like to do more of?
Are there any habits that I used to do that would be helpful to start up again?
What stops me from maintaining healthy habits?
How can I change my thoughts around this to help me?
How can I be kinder to myself when I don’t stick to my habit?