Why Didn't We Do This Before?

If there’s one thing we all have more of right now, it’s time. Whether you actually have more time or just more time to use in different ways, there’s more time to think, time to be, time to connect. And I can’t help but think — why didn’t we do this before?

Why didn’t we prioritize slowing down?

Why didn’t we have proper meals and spend time making good, wholesome food from scratch?

Why didn’t we sit down, kick up our feet, pull from our bookshelf that’s collecting dust, and read more?

Why didn’t we bake loaves of bread and share with our neighbors?

Why didn’t we proactively watch out for each other?

Why didn’t we prioritize our health, regularly getting outside (while practicing social distancing, of course) for some vitamin D, fresh air, and exercise?

Why didn’t we prioritize mindfulness and build a home yoga practice?

Why didn’t we facetime with our out-of-state family and friends on a regular basis?

Why didn’t we prioritize what we love to do, building and crafting with our hands?

Why didn’t we prioritize sustainable, minimal living?

I think we’re now realizing more than ever the importance of connection. Connection to ourselves, our families and loved ones, our communities, our world, and our universe.

If there’s one thing I’d love to see happen as we come out of this global pandemic, it’s that we don’t lose these new habits we’re forming. These habits of meaningful connection and intentional living.

What are the new habits you’re forming that you hope to carry on when life goes back to “normal”? I’ll leave you with this quote from Dave Hollis:

“In the rush to return to normal, consider which parts of ‘normal’ are worth rushing back to.”

Season 2 Episode 03 Show Notes: Little Daily Rituals

In this episode, we chat daily rituals — why are they so important? How do you determine what your daily rituals should include? This week’s challenge is to identify your daily rituals. If you need a kick-start, check out the free worksheet I built you below!

Defining Daily Routines vs. Daily Rituals

A daily routine is a series of tasks you complete every day in the same order, and is most likely not viewed as enjoyable or motivating. 

A daily ritual is similar to a daily routine because it’s also a series of tasks completed in the same order, BUT a daily ritual differs in its intention. A daily ritual is a meaningful practice that’s internally motivated. According to lifehack.org, a daily ritual can provide energy and enjoyment along with efficiency and structure.

Said another way, you can do routines on autopilot, but rituals are intentional.

Daily rituals help us live in a rhythm, manifest what’s important to us, and make us feel good about ourselves. 

Daily Rituals for Creatives

Did you know rituals are particularly important for creatives? There’s an article on Psychology Today that references Mason Currey’s book called Daily Rituals — How Artists Work. The article says the book challenges the notion that artists just wait around for inspiration to strike — in fact, the 161 artists highlighted in the book lead what seem to be very routine lives: there are particular emphases on getting lots of sleep, engaging in lots of regular daily walking, and drinking lots of coffee (and for some, drinking lots of tea).

The article also mentions what is very apparent in the book is that creative work requires enormous amounts of discipline and that to do something creative, you get to work, and then inspiration follows. I absolutely find that to be true when it comes to podcast and blog development. I may have what I believe to be a great topic idea, but am not totally inspired to write — until I sit down and actually just start writing.

How to Set Your Own Daily Rituals

The best way to determine what should be included in your little daily rituals list is to really just prioritize what you want to get out of each day.

The following questions might help:

1. What does my ideal day look like?

2. What are the most fulfilling things I do? What are my most favorite activities?

3. What causes me the most stress? And what are the things I do that help me manage stress?

4. Is there anything I repeatedly do and regret because it wastes my time?

5. What are small things that would make each day even a tiny bit brighter and better for me?

6. What helps reduce uncertainty in my day?

7. Is there a goal I’m working toward that can help prioritize what my daily rituals should include?

Little Daily Rituals Worksheet

This simple worksheet will guide you through questions and exercises to help you identify which daily rituals you’re drawn to so you can start implementing them in your life and get to living more intentionally.

Join me on this Capsule Life journey!

• Subscribe to the Capsule Life podcast on iTunes

  • Like what you hear? I’d love it if you left a review! It helps me out more than you know!

• This Capsule Life Community

• This Capsule Life on Instagram

• This Capsule Life on Pinterest

Until next time Capsule Lifers — keep finding joy through intentional living.

Season 2 Episode 02 Show Notes: What it's Really Like Living with Anxiety

In this episode, we dive deep into what it’s really like to live with anxiety, from my perspective and personal experiences. We chat about what anxiety feels like and the ways we can combat the presence of it in our daily lives.

Defining Anxiety

For me, anxiety can hit anywhere, anytime. It doesn’t matter if I’m comfortably at home or at work scrambling under an intense deadline. Sometimes I just wake up with a tight chest and I can’t even identify what might be causing it.

anxiety.org states that an anxiety disorder results when the fight or flight response becomes triggered too easily and too frequently. The human brain responds identically to both real and unreal danger using our fight or flight response, which causes a surge of adrenaline to assist with either fighting or fleeing. While we experience physical reactions to the surge of adrenaline (like heart rate and blood pressure increases and senses becoming hyper-alert, it is also up to our brains to determine whether the trigger is real or the trigger is unreal. Both anxiety and fear produce virtually identical physiologic responses, so our mind is in charge of making sense of it all to react appropriately (which it doesn’t always do perfectly).

When our fight or flight response is triggered too frequently, the brain starts to perceive the world as more dangerous than it actually is and the body overreacts to stressors that are not life-threatening, like traffic jams, work pressure, and family difficulties.

That has been my experience — that my body and mind overreact to both existing and perceived stressors. And I believe this stems from my need for perfection. I’m constantly trying to do the very best I possibly can, even at a detriment to my relationships and mental and physical wellbeing. And I think that’s the key — I don’t think doing my best is inherently negative; it’s when it becomes obsessive and wreaks havoc on other aspects of my life that it becomes a problem.

Anxiety is Not One-Size-Fits-All

The symptoms I’ve experienced living with anxiety have run the gamut — sometimes I can easily tame them and other times all I want to do is veg out in bed or on the couch. But that’s the reality of living with anxiety — I just take it day-by-day.

And I think that’s the misunderstanding of people who live with anxiety. We can’t generalize that everyone feels and experiences it in the same way, and we also can’t assume that anxiety is debilitating for everyone who experiences it. Affecting nearly 40 million American adults, it’s the most common mental health condition in the country — you may not even realize you know people dealing with anxiety.

A Few Things That Have Helped Me Cope

While I go into more detail about each of these on the podcast, none of the below are earth-shattering. But I think that’s the point. Sometimes it’s the smallest daily habits that are the most impactful — at least in my experience.

1. Working out on a regular basis.

2. Leaning on my person.

3. Eating real food.

4. Practicing self care and yoga.

5. Switching from coffee to Matcha Tea.

Tune into the podcast for more about my struggle with anxiety, and more tips for coping with it from a few great resources. And remember, let’s not generalize the experience of living with anxiety, but rather, let’s offer help and love to each other the best way we know how.

Join me on this Capsule Life journey!

• Subscribe to the Capsule Life podcast on iTunes

  • Like what you hear? I’d love it if you left a review! It helps me out more than you know!

• This Capsule Life Community

• This Capsule Life on Instagram

• This Capsule Life on Pinterest

Until next time Capsule Lifers — keep finding joy through intentional living.