When You Run Out Of Air

Life gets quite overwhelming sometimes.

Our generation is so lucky in our access to so much technology but this can also be a lot of stimuli to experience on a daily basis.

If you find yourself drowning in content, drowning in socialization, drowning in expectation and societal norms….

When you run out of air….come to the surface again.

It is so easy to lose sight of your reality, your surface.

Because we spend so much time seeing into the lives, successes, struggles and realities of others, it is easy to lose sight of our own.

It is easy to feel like there is an invisible clock that you are always racing to do what everyone else is doing.

It is easy and natural to be influenced….they call them influencers for a reason.

I encourage you to come up for air when you need to.

Realign with YOUR GOALS.

Realign with YOUR PURPOSE.

Realign with YOURSELF.

What are the things that you would be doing if no one else were doing them?

Who are you naturally? If you find yourself chasing the dreams of others, working to keep up, you will find yourself gasping for air, struggling to breathe.

Come up for air.

It was recently proven that giraffes can swim but not very well. Imagine a giraffe attempting to live like a shark. It would likely drown because it is attempting to be something that it is not. It is attempting to conform. A giraffe's reality is not under water….a giraffe would run out of air.

Because a giraffe cannot live like a shark does not make it any less special. It does not make it weak because it needs to come up for air. This is simply part of the giraffe's reality.

When you run out of air….when you start to feel less like yourself….when you find yourself influenced to take actions that don't align with your goals…..

Come up to the surface again.

Come up for air.

How?

1. Connect with nature: Nothing reminds you of the honesty of life like nature. Ground yourself by placing your bare feet on the ground outside if you can. Connect with nature. To be reminded that there is a bigger world out there and that there is a God.

2. Unplug: Disconnect from technology more often. Silence your notifications, give yourself some Do Not Disturb hours. Go to bed early. In a world full of chaos and chatter, create space for your own thoughts to flow with no interruption or influence.

3. Journal: Writing has saved my life. Get a journal. Write. Brain dump whatever is on your mind. Google writing prompts. Write about your day. Make it a habit to write at least once per week even if it's just 5 sentences. Writing forces you to reflect and acknowledge the things that you may be dealing with subconsciously.

4. Read: Whether it's fiction or non-fiction, reading is an escape. You're learning something, exercising and stretching your mind. Not sure what to read? Review my previous book suggestion blog AND grab yourself a copy of any of the books that I've written here.

4. Be quiet: Do you meditate? If not, give it a try! I like to listen to the Meditation Mixtape by Shelah Marie. It provides good guided meditations that really help you to quiet your thinking and center yourself. In addition to this, set a timer each day to just sit in silence for 5 minutes and let your thoughts and feelings flow. No television. No music. No talking. Just silence. We spend a lot of time running from our thoughts and distracting ourselves. It is important that we spend some time letting them flow (with boundaries in place of course).

5. Do things just for fun: We exist in a generation of monetization. We have been led to believe that we have to turn everything into a business or an opportunity to make money. Making money is great. We love money. We love being paid for our gifts. HOWEVER, I encourage you to keep something that's just for yourself. Do something that is just for fun. Taking that pressure off the things that you love makes a huge difference in maintaining your child like joy and you deserve that.

If you are running out of air, please know you are not alone. Look toward the sun and know that your season to breathe easy will come again.

XOXO,

Brandi Nikkale