Hello Stabilizers,
I hope it’s okay that I refer to you that way. I thrive on cutesy nick-names so I’m going to go ahead & DECLARE you MY stabilizers because like Bobby Brown once said, “It’s my Perogative.”
My first stability month: starting with a few small, foundational goals while planning the rest of my SP. Beginning with the seemingly simple goal of waking up and going to bed at the same time every day.
WHY IS THIS SO HARD, PEOPLE?!
Ever since I started work full-time again, our house has gotten to near disaster-level messiness. With no place to walk in the entry room, the living room, the dining room, the bathroom, our bedroom, the boys’ bedrooms & dishes-for-days all over counter tops it has – IS- effecting me. The hubz & I have felt so overwhelmed, so shut down by the mess we’ve been paralyzed. Instead of doing 10-20 minutes of cleaning a day I’ve traded that time in for what ends up being 2-3 hrs. of computer time each night, making it harder to wake after a short night of sleep.
I’ve struggled with insomnia brought on by anxiety about adjusting well in my new position, hubz’ snoring, or my one of my lovely children needing something SUPER IMPORTANT in the middle of the night like a tiny sip of water. Each time it takes me 2-4 hrs. to fall back asleep my night is SHOT and the next day a yawn-fest extraordinaire satisfied only with copious amounts of coffee &/or large fountain drinks.
I’ve failed to make work outs an ongoing priority since the transition from working-from-home to working-out-of-the-home 40 hrs./wk which also effects my energy, and sleep. When working out, I sleep better in general, I have less neck pain which sometimes wakes me up and I have increased daytime energy.
Yesterday, I decided to flex my flexibility muscles for a little stabilization boost amidst my sleep related disasters.
Taking advantage of my sons’ unexpected 4 hr. mid-day nap, I washed, dryed AND put away ALL of my clothes. All in all, it took 10 hrs! This was one of my HUGE projects to be tackled later in my SP year but after consideration, why wait?
Every morning the search for a clean ________ (anything at all) significantly shot up my stress levels amidst the normal stress of having two young kiddos needing assistance in every aspect of their morning routine including pouring a glass of milk to brushing their teeth. When you throw in our messy house or trying to find clean soccer socks all the while dodging LEGO’s, mornings are a total nightmare. (Probably especially when you are not up in time to stay on top of it, eh?)
For my flexibility, I rewarded myself in two ways:
1. I listened to The Help instead of a learny-learn book. I absolutely LOVE self-help-y, learny-learn books but then forget how relaxing it is to listen to straight up fiction. The ease of getting lost in a good story makes it easier to get lost in my laundry.
2. I allowed myself enough time to work on this post before bed.
As it turned out, seeing my clothes all picked up and put away was the reward itself. I was so motivated I also got my sons clothes all clean and put away, I sorted out the summer clothes since it’s all ready down to the 60’s here in the frozen tundra of the Midwest States and I cleaned the entire kitchen.
Having a stable, (mostly) clean house is one of the biggest aspects I hope to establish in my SP! While this isn’t exactly the stability progress I’d hoped to have reported today, it is stableness nonetheless.
I think I’ve discovered a new Secret of Adulthood: Flexibility for the win!
Have you ever used flexibility to get yourself out of an emotional pinch? Are you starting &/or interested in doing your own Happiness/Stableness project? Hop on over & join our Happiness/Stableness Project’ers Facebook group for a little support & accountability!
Proof for our little group of 16 is helpful:
To Stability & Beyond!
:::: Grace
The Stableness Project 