I Finally Took My Own Advice
I Finally Took My Own Advice
I Finally Took My Own Advice
If you haven’t been following along on my social channels, you may not know that we’ve checked off some pretty big boxes in the Grady household lately, including Evan graduating from high school!
We decided to celebrate and spent most of July driving through the mountains in Colorado. It was magical!
On our trip, I tried to disconnect from work as much as possible so that I could take in every sunset, cherish the time spent with Jay, and be extremely grateful for the accomplishments we’ve recently achieved as a family.
I finally took my own advice. I took time to reset, to gain perspective, and to step away from “busy”.
Sometimes the only way to reset your perspective is to get some space.
Here are 3 reminders for resetting:
1. Busy doesn’t equal productive. Busy equals exhausted.
It is so easy to neglect the things that bring us joy and get caught up in being busy. People told me for years to take care of myself, take time off, and slow down. It turns out when you don’t take time to practice self-care and take care of your most valuable resource (YOU), life has a way of doing it for you. Being busy also wears down your resilience, like your car running on fumes when you run the tank down too low. You hit a bump in the road and next thing you know, you’re out of gas.
2. Take time to reassess what is most important to you.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we have an opportunity to redefine what life and “normalcy” looks like. What do you want your life to look like? What is most important to you? I’m not saying up and quit your job and abandon responsibilities, but a key to resilience, mindfulness, and purposeful living is to align where you spend your time with what you say is most important to you.
3. Whatever success looks like for you, reverse engineer a path to get there.
Success is more than a destination. Success is a collection of habits, strategic decisions, a way of living, and a routine. This approach allows you to slowly adopt habits that cultivate success and give up things that are undermining it. When you give your brain a destination, it subconsciously works backward to build the path to get there.
Stay tuned for some VERY exciting news! I can’t wait to share it with you.
Stay brave and resilient,
Anne
Subscribe to Anne's #RoutineResilience Email!
Anne breaks down the daily habits and skills needed to grow and cultivate RESILIENCE.
Read that again. 🙌
Success doesn`t happen overnight nor is it a straight path. I am beyond grateful to live my passion and share it with the world. #throwbackthursday
I played piano from the time I was four years old until the age of 15 and during that time, I had a lot of recitals. I remember being so nervous before each recital. What if I played the wrong note? What if I forgot the music? My dad would look at me, hold my hands, and say:
Whatever you do, DO NOT think of pink elephants!!
At the time, I had no idea why in the world he would say this. All I do know is that when I sat down to play, all I saw were pink elephants, and I was able to tackle my nerves.
Turns out my dad was helping me to practice the ironic process theory which explains that when we try to suppress our thoughts, we focus on them even more. Seventy to 80% of our thoughts are negative and repetitive. If not managed, intrusive thoughts can lead to anxiety, depression, and a whole host of mental health challenges.
If you tend to get stuck in rumination, or if your thoughts sometimes get the best of you, here are a few ways to take back control:
1️⃣ Recognize that your thoughts are not facts.
2️⃣ Use your brain. Do a math problem, practice a different language, or play a puzzle game. When you access the prefrontal cortex, the higher level thinking part of your brain, you get out of the emotional limbic system.
3️⃣ Distract yourself. Sometimes a simple distraction gives you enough distance to quiet your intrusive thoughts.
4️⃣ Practice mindfulness.
5️⃣ See a therapist. When negative, intrusive thoughts impact your ability to do your job, maintain relationships, or start clouding your judgment, it may be time to get help. As someone with plenty of intrusive thoughts, therapy has helped me tremendously.
Don’t forget, your thoughts and feelings are not facts. They are simply habits that need to be shifted. Be patient with yourself, and if all else fails, whatever you do, DO NOT THINK OF PINK ELEPHANTS!
Pets provide a deep sense connection and unconditional love. I don’t know what I’d do without without these two nut jobs! Happy National Love Your Pet Day! ❤️🐶 #mindfulmonday #mindfulness #petsnuggles #ilovemydogs #petsofinstagram #nationalloveyourpetday
I hope your Friday includes donuts. 🍩
Midweek reminder: Reset your mindset. 🧠
Anne Grady is a Speaker, Author, and #TruthBomb Dropper.
Anne shares practical strategies that can be applied both personally and professionally to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. Anne is a two time TEDx speaker, and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, CNN, ESPN, and FOX Business. She is the best selling author of 52 Strategies for Life, Love & Work and Strong Enough: Choosing Courage, Resilience and Triumph.