"I realized over time I was focusing more on what I had lost, rather than what I have. I started to make a conscious mind shift to remind myself of the people and things I have, rather than the things and people I have lost. It has helped. It is a shift of thinking that is still ongoing."
I was trying to figure out how to put my thoughts into words in a way that would be helpful and even make sense. There are so many things that impact us as people. Sometimes it is hard to even pull apart the complexities of life enough to figure out what each thing in our life is contributing to our well being, or if it is a detriment.
For me, the isolation I have gone through in the past year or even two years, if I am honest, has been primarily the result of loss and grief. It was not just one loss, but multiple losses. They resulted in a difficulty pulling apart and processing each one, because they piled on top of one another. I realized over time I was focusing more on what I had lost, rather than what I have. I started to make a conscious mind shift to remind myself of the people and things I have, rather than the things and people I have lost. It has helped. It is a shift of thinking that is still ongoing.
I also did inventory about things that I feel I need more of, and things I need less of. This has resulted in a decision to pretty much stop drinking. Other than a couple of special occasions, I have not had wine since January and that has helped my sleep, mood and concentration. I love wine, but once it was eliminated I could see that I have more focus and that is good for my overall state of mind.
Taking inventory resulted in drinking a lot more water, eating better, exercising more, reading more, writing more and feeling better. In general, it has resulted in more positive thoughts and taking away things that were not adding to my well-being.
The things we need are very personal. We need to go easy on ourselves during the process of figuring out what serves us and what we need. It probably took a long time for any bad habits or unnecessary behaviours to form, so I needed to give them time to be eliminated. I feel time in isolation is very different from time in the outside world, so we have to adapt and allow things to adjust.
There is no right way or wrong way. There is no list of should have, must have, can’t have. We just need to do the inventory and then take steps to add or subtract accordingly.
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