Susan Gabriel's Blog - Posts Tagged "uninspired"
77 Things to do When Stressed or Uninspired
As a former psychotherapist and a current professional writer, I am well aware of how stressed, burnt out, restless, bored and uninspired this world can make us, especially if we are sensitive or creative types. Things get to us. Not because we’re bad, wrong, stupid or crazy, but because we’re human.
As a result, we can get easily distracted from the things that really matter and, without needed rejuvenation, life loses some of its meaning and sacredness.
With that in mind, I decided to brainstorm a list of things to do when life gets hard.
Sometimes small suggestions can offer big results.
As always, I’d love to hear what you think. I also invite you to add your own ideas in the comments section. Here goes:
77 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ARE STRESSED OUT OR UNINSPIRED
1.take a walk by a body of water: river, lake, sea, stream
2.plant a small tree
3.unplug from all electronics for 24 hours
4.sit in a quiet room and close your eyes
5.make a salad of fresh fruit and eat it slowly
6.read a good book
7.write a really bad poem
8.walk barefooted in grass
9.practice laughing
10.sit on the floor cross-legged and hum
11.sit in the sun for 15 minutes
12.have a deep, meaningful conversation with a friend
13.massage your hands and feet, or have someone do it for you
14.drink a tall glass of water and think about what a gift it is to be able to swallow
15.find a swing and swing in it
16.listen to live music
17.take a novelist to lunch (I’m available on weekends :-))
18.go outside and listen to birdsong
19.plant flowers and encourage them to grow
20.yodel badly
21.hug a tree
22.let yourself cry
23.write down every cuss word you know using colored pencils
24.smile for 5 minutes without stopping (set a timer)
25.do not shop or buy anything for 24 hours
26.go to an art gallery
27.pull a random book from the fiction section of the library and read the first chapter
28.perform an anonymous and random act of kindness
29.take a mental health day at work and begin your hero’s/heroine’s journey
30.sing an Elvis song in the shower
31.write a letter to someone by hand and snail mail it
32.give someone flowers
33.breathe deeply 4 times: slow inhale, slow exhale
34.tell a friend 3 things you appreciate about them
35.write all your resentments on a sheet of paper and then burn them
36.go to your favorite coffee shop and speak to at least 2 people other than the barista
37.take a slow drive on a country road you’ve never been on before
38.make yourself your favorite meal
39.look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself: you are good enough
40.volunteer one afternoon in a soup kitchen
41.contact an artist (writer, poet, short story writer, novelist, painter, etc.) and tell them something you love about their work
42.count how many times you say “thank you” in one day and then double it
43.find a porch to sit on
44.donate money to an environmental or wildlife protection agency
45.play with a small child (no television allowed)
46.sit under a tree and read for 30 minutes
47.go to a farmers market and buy homegrown, fresh vegetables
48.keep a gratitude journal
49.sing a song that you used to sing as a child
50.feel blue, touch green
51.watch clouds for 30 minutes and name their shapes
52.read a fairy tale
53.listen to an audio book (after doing number 3 above)
54.make a phone call to an elderly person and tell them how much you appreciate them
55.write down your dreams
56.dance naked (your should probably do this one at home)
57.walk in the rain
58.be vulnerable with someone you can trust
59.make your own list of things to do when you feel uninspired
60.pray/meditate or walk your meditation
61.feed the birds
62.read a story to someone small or someone convalescing
63.take 4 more deep breaths and thank your body for keeping you alive
64.let your imagination run wild
65.take your intuition out for a spin
66.draw something very badly and without judgment
67.put together a box of things to give to Goodwill or another agency
68.take a nap
69.go on a news fast (no bad news) for 24 hours
70.search out stories and people that inspire you
71.play a musical instrument
72.write a song about yourself
73.go on a pilgrimage
74.attend a play
75.have a delicious dessert for dinner one night
76.while sitting quietly, ask your soul what it needs and then do it
77.read this blog and comment when you feel moved
So there it is. It took me about an hour to brainstorm these 77 things. At first I thought I’d aim for 50, but I had more to say than I realized.
It’s incredibly easy to get stressed these days, but it’s important to take action as soon as we realize we are anxious, bored, discouraged or distracted.
Nobody will do these things for us. We have to do them for ourselves.
What’s one of your favorites from my list?
Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment section! I’ll respond to you personally.
(For those of you who subscribe by email, click the name of the post and it will take you to the blog and then click on “comments.”)
————————
If you haven’t already, please consider checking out my latest novel: The Secret Sense of Wildflower.
As a result, we can get easily distracted from the things that really matter and, without needed rejuvenation, life loses some of its meaning and sacredness.
With that in mind, I decided to brainstorm a list of things to do when life gets hard.
Sometimes small suggestions can offer big results.
As always, I’d love to hear what you think. I also invite you to add your own ideas in the comments section. Here goes:
77 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ARE STRESSED OUT OR UNINSPIRED
1.take a walk by a body of water: river, lake, sea, stream
2.plant a small tree
3.unplug from all electronics for 24 hours
4.sit in a quiet room and close your eyes
5.make a salad of fresh fruit and eat it slowly
6.read a good book
7.write a really bad poem
8.walk barefooted in grass
9.practice laughing
10.sit on the floor cross-legged and hum
11.sit in the sun for 15 minutes
12.have a deep, meaningful conversation with a friend
13.massage your hands and feet, or have someone do it for you
14.drink a tall glass of water and think about what a gift it is to be able to swallow
15.find a swing and swing in it
16.listen to live music
17.take a novelist to lunch (I’m available on weekends :-))
18.go outside and listen to birdsong
19.plant flowers and encourage them to grow
20.yodel badly
21.hug a tree
22.let yourself cry
23.write down every cuss word you know using colored pencils
24.smile for 5 minutes without stopping (set a timer)
25.do not shop or buy anything for 24 hours
26.go to an art gallery
27.pull a random book from the fiction section of the library and read the first chapter
28.perform an anonymous and random act of kindness
29.take a mental health day at work and begin your hero’s/heroine’s journey
30.sing an Elvis song in the shower
31.write a letter to someone by hand and snail mail it
32.give someone flowers
33.breathe deeply 4 times: slow inhale, slow exhale
34.tell a friend 3 things you appreciate about them
35.write all your resentments on a sheet of paper and then burn them
36.go to your favorite coffee shop and speak to at least 2 people other than the barista
37.take a slow drive on a country road you’ve never been on before
38.make yourself your favorite meal
39.look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself: you are good enough
40.volunteer one afternoon in a soup kitchen
41.contact an artist (writer, poet, short story writer, novelist, painter, etc.) and tell them something you love about their work
42.count how many times you say “thank you” in one day and then double it
43.find a porch to sit on
44.donate money to an environmental or wildlife protection agency
45.play with a small child (no television allowed)
46.sit under a tree and read for 30 minutes
47.go to a farmers market and buy homegrown, fresh vegetables
48.keep a gratitude journal
49.sing a song that you used to sing as a child
50.feel blue, touch green
51.watch clouds for 30 minutes and name their shapes
52.read a fairy tale
53.listen to an audio book (after doing number 3 above)
54.make a phone call to an elderly person and tell them how much you appreciate them
55.write down your dreams
56.dance naked (your should probably do this one at home)
57.walk in the rain
58.be vulnerable with someone you can trust
59.make your own list of things to do when you feel uninspired
60.pray/meditate or walk your meditation
61.feed the birds
62.read a story to someone small or someone convalescing
63.take 4 more deep breaths and thank your body for keeping you alive
64.let your imagination run wild
65.take your intuition out for a spin
66.draw something very badly and without judgment
67.put together a box of things to give to Goodwill or another agency
68.take a nap
69.go on a news fast (no bad news) for 24 hours
70.search out stories and people that inspire you
71.play a musical instrument
72.write a song about yourself
73.go on a pilgrimage
74.attend a play
75.have a delicious dessert for dinner one night
76.while sitting quietly, ask your soul what it needs and then do it
77.read this blog and comment when you feel moved
So there it is. It took me about an hour to brainstorm these 77 things. At first I thought I’d aim for 50, but I had more to say than I realized.
It’s incredibly easy to get stressed these days, but it’s important to take action as soon as we realize we are anxious, bored, discouraged or distracted.
Nobody will do these things for us. We have to do them for ourselves.
What’s one of your favorites from my list?
Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comment section! I’ll respond to you personally.
(For those of you who subscribe by email, click the name of the post and it will take you to the blog and then click on “comments.”)
————————
If you haven’t already, please consider checking out my latest novel: The Secret Sense of Wildflower.
