To move forward from the last one sent to you, the Jeffrey Brantley & Wendy Millstine book used indicates regarding “FEELING RUSHED” the following:
“A wise person once said, “be quick but don’t hurry.”
Feeling rushed drives one to hurry. Constant hurrying can lead to mistakes, accidents, and even burnout. Try the following practice when you find yourself hurrying. It can help you become more relaxed – and quicker!
1. Whenever you feel rushed, stop and breathe, listen, or move mindfully.
2. Affirm yourself. For example, “I remember that I have all the support I need.”
3. Center mindful attention on your breath and body sensations for a few breaths. Reconnect with your body, and allow the flow of all sensations.
4. Notice any thoughts or chatter in your mind. Acknowledge the mental story without fighting or following it.
5. Attend mindfully to breath or body sensations for a few more breaths.
6. Recall a specific source of personal strength or support, and repeat your affirmation.
7. Return to work with a lighter step and a refreshed spirit.”
I can’t help but add another -- “Take time to smell the roses!” Many folks will walk in the mall and look at the people sitting around and wonder (“It must be nice to have the time to sit around when there is so much to do”) while the people sitting around wonder (“It is sad that those people racing through their shopping tasks never take time to relax.”). It is important that we take the time to sit, observe, reflect and savor life – whether it is at a busy mall, on a bench in a park, or even in the comfort of our own home. Time is much too short in our lives to not take a moment to do something for ourselves when I knee jerk reaction is to continue to push ourselves to do as much as possible for those around us – either directly or indirectly in our lives.
Learning to pace ourselves is important for our own wellness – even on the phones with those that are calling us from all over the United States, and sometimes from all over the world. While we would like to irradicate the need of any domestic violence existing in anyone’s lives, we are not going to be that one person to do that. Although as a team spreading the word of our work to others may help, we know that we aren’t going to be helping our callers if we are rushing from one caller to the next. We need to take time, and pace ourselves such that our mind is prepared to actively listen to the next caller.
The recent change in our wrap time is there to allow us to breathe in between the calls. Use that time to actually breathe and relax. Sometimes opening our senses by wiping down our desk with wipes or breaking open an orange to eat can help eliminate the harshness of the hard call we had so that we can awaken our bodies and souls to move forward to the next caller, possibly in crisis. Sometimes, even posting a quote of a song can help – like Bob Marley’s song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” can help us to regain that step and smile that is needed in order to be able to help the next caller during our wrap time. Question is, what is it that is going to help you not feel so rushed?
~~ NEXT WEEK’s TOPIC: TAKE A HIKE ~~
