I think of my distractions as my work.

I put them there. I run the scripts that replay. My work is to acknowledge them, identify why they became so meaningful, then let them go.

It's rewarding work for me to identify why I have a particular thought I keep ruminating over. I can eventually identify why I felt the need to implement it in my life, and then see exactly how it no longer serves me. Once my brain realizes this, it's so much easier to drop the thought when I have it again.

Now, when I'm disregulated, I don't marinate in that feeling too long before I can recognize that I'm upset. I stop everything and scan my body for tightness and discomfort. Once I'm back in my body, feeling around, my emotions are a little bit away from me and I can look at them. Am I hungry? Tired? Angry? Identifying my feelings then helps me step a little further back from them.

Now there's space between me and my feelings and I'm much less likely to react and more likely to act in a mindful way.

It's this, all day, every day for me. I've spent my life tied up in a knot of worry, and now I work to untie that knot and let life be what it is.

Try to remember this isn't a race to some kind of epic ending. Each breath we take is an invitation to suck up each and every joyful drop of life you can find. So, find joy in the work of your distractions.

Be well.