My Regular Exercises to Lift that Weight off my Chest
Small Guide to a Lighter Existence
A light existence is something we all want and to which we all tend. By “light”, I don’t mean superficial or meaningless, I mean free, without the weights we carry, voluntarily or not.
This is what I do. It may seem trivial for you, but it works for me. These steps I take regularly are divided into three major areas I like to call “Remove”, “Transform” and “Give”.
Remove
Getting rid of all those things dragging me down and being a weight for me.
Toxic People
The most important cut I have to make is toxic people putting me in a negative mood or pointlessly ruining my positivity. In most cases, those people thrive in turning positive emotions into negative ones.
To enjoy life, a free and light one, I understood I needed to keep them out, or at least reduce the interaction with them to a minimum.
Here is one of my personal experiences about this topic:
Unnecessary Stuff
A cathartic exercise I do regularly when I feel overwhelmed and need to relieve the stress is gathering the things I don’t need or don’t use anymore and getting rid of them.
On one hand, I make some space — for new things or just space, which is always wonderful. On the other hand, materially detaching from things helps me detach from the past, especially if related to them. So I regularly check part of my stuff, and ask myself:
- Do I need it?
- Does it make me feel good having it?
If both the answers are no, I get rid of it.
But think of the planet! You don’t necessarily need to trash it, you can sell it and even make some bucks off it, or just give it away to someone who may need it!
Unnecessary News
This one is particular. I found myself watching too much news. If keeping ourselves informed is generally a good practice, overdoing it is not. It may lead to anxiety and worries, especially if the news is frequently bad. So I started considering it as a substance:
consume it at your own risk, and always keep the dosage low.
Transform
Transforming things into better ones.
Take care of your time
My day, like everybody else’s, is made of 24 hours and most of them are taken by necessary, undelayable activities such as working, commuting or eating, sleeping…
I analyzed how I used my time during the day and the week, and ended up surprised by how much free time I noticed I could squeeze out if only I gave up on time-wasting activities (did someone say social media?).
So I reorganized my week to reclaim that time and I do it again and again, getting better at it each time.
I must→ I want to
This is quite simple in theory, less in practice. There are many things I must do, like all of us.
“I must do…”
I tried transforming that “I must” into an “I want to”. Then I asked myself:
Does it sound good?
Well, if it doesn’t sound so good I give it a thought and, if I can, I try to stop doing it.
I’m well aware that this transformation is not always possible, but if there are possible cases you should try. Keep in mind that not everything you started has to be accomplished just for the sake of doing so. You don’t necessarily have or must…
Give
Giving to others… or oneself.
Take care of yourself
Quite obvious. Sometimes a little of me-time is good, is needed.
I had to accept the fact that rests and pauses are part of the journey and I learned to take some.
But, taking care of myself means also doing what I love and what makes me feel good. A little time to have fun or develop my passions, such as gaming or writing. Even if I don’t have all the time I wished for it. It’s better to do a little of something every time it’s possible than nothing at all waiting for the perfect moment.
I wish you…
This one was taught to me by a meditation teacher. Even if I never got to fully appreciate meditation, this exercise left a mark on me for its effectiveness.
I take a moment to think of someone I care about, someone who makes me feel good just by thinking of them.
Then, I wish them all the best. Give them all my love.
I Focus on that love and give it importance, I make it grow again and again.
If it feels good during the exercise, then I try to do it also in real life.
Forgive
The last one was easy, giving love to someone I already love…
It’s way harder to say goodbye to the past and let go of the grudge: to forgive someone I haven’t forgiven yet. It’s all but easy, I know.
I try to do it regularly, even if I have to admit that I don’t always succeed. It takes a lot of practice. When I manage to do it, and my forgiveness is true, I feel like growing from a moral point of view and becoming a better version of myself.
The best byproduct of this practice is the feeling of lifting a weight off my chest.
hey, Past! Good riddance!
This includes the hardest of all: forgiving myself.
Laugh!
Just laugh. A day without a laugh or a smile means going in the opposite direction of a lighter, freer life.
Nothing is more liberating than a genuine smile or laugh.
The older I grow, the more important it gets to stay in touch with the child I once were. I work hard to not fail him. Every day.
