The ultimate question: What do I need right now?
Posted on January 28, 2020 by Georgie Coote, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
Do you rush through your day bouncing from one activity to the next, feeling stressed and anxious, stop and ask yourself; "What do I need right now?
If you rush through your day bouncing from one activity to the next and feeling stressed, anxious, and typically not enjoying the moment, do you ever stop to ask yourself, “What do I need right now?”
Sometimes it’s not an easy question, especially if you are not used to giving yourself this gift and taking the time to listen to your answer. “I haven’t got time for that” I hear you say “That’s a luxury for people who don’t have 1001 things to do in a day”. But consider this, if you took just a moment, a few seconds to ask yourself this question, it could open up a world of possibility for you to be able to slow down and bring much-needed clarity.
I have had moments in the past that my head is so full of what I need to do, I can’t think straight, thoughts are swirling around tumbling over each other, and there seems to be no way out. Just taking a breath, a moment, to put only one thought in your head that is more important right now, in this second, can help you find clarity and unravel those thoughts.
Perhaps you realize that you must ask for help, delegate something to someone else; in that moment of clarity, you may not only see that but understand who can help and how you can ask. Or perhaps you realize that one of the many things you are doing is not that important, you can let it go for today. There are endless possibilities for the outcome of asking this one simple question.
Don’t believe me? Think you are just too busy for this? Let’s try it:
· Take a long slow breath in through your nose, breathe out through your mouth slowly, sigh it out.
· Now breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, long slow breaths counting to at least four.
· Do this a few more times.
· Now, ask yourself, “What do I need right now?” Keep breathing and listen to the answer; you will know it. Your monkey mind will finally slow, and the clarity will come.
How do you remember to ask the question in a frazzled moment? Write it on many post-it notes or note cards and put them in places where you typically will see them; your kitchen, your computer screen, the bathroom, your car, you name it. When you see the reminder, ask the question, especially if you think you don’t have time.
Interested in finding new ways to reduce stress, live calmly, and with purpose? Find out how I can help.
