What do you practice? Choosing joy over anxiety
Practice Joy.
Just a reminder: Your attention is a resource. Choose wisely where you spend it.
Hello, Practice families!
It's Monday, which feels like an appropriate time for me to remind you to check in with yourself: what are you practicing?
When we opened, I chose the name PRACTICE for several reasons.
Life-- in and of itself-- is a practice. We don't get everything right. Each moment, each day-- they are all steps in a process of iterative development, figuring it out as we go, falling on our faces and then picking ourselves back up to do more of what worked and less of what didn't.
In addition, the skills that we teach at Practice around managing stress and anxiety are like any other skill-- they require effort and practice. And even with lots of practice, it can be difficult to remember or feel motivated to access our skills at times of distress or anxiety! (I often tell kids that I'm 40 years old, and I am still practicing these skills every day!) But we know that we have the ability to re-wire our brains, to shift our experience of stress by repeatedly choosing to try to use strategies to calm ourselves down, to shift our thinking, to redirect our attention. We have the ability to change our emotional experience with practice. And each stressful situation offers us an opportunity to practice (although let's face it, a global pandemic is maybe taking things a little TOO far!).
Regardless-- this week, I say to you: what do you practice? Notice the thoughts running on repeat in your mind. Notice the words coming out of your mouth. Notice the actions that you are taking (or not taking!). Notice the way that you are feeling. If you find yourself practicing thinking or saying or doing or feeling things that are not serving you, then make an effort to shift those things that are not working... and practice taking (and paving!) a different path.
Here are some of our best tips. Give them a shot, and let us know how it goes.
I'll be over here, practicing too.
P.S.-- Remember, you can practice with us online via our online parenting webinars and Facebook community or in our live-stream prenatal and postnatal support groups and yoga/fitness classes! We also are accepting new clients for individual therapy (kids, teens, parents, parents-to-be!) or for parenting support/coaching-- just send us an email at clinic@practicesanfrancisco.com.
