Gratitude, Time, Priorities, Love, Goals and Daily Life…

My week did not go AT ALL as expected – or planned.

Life Happens as they say. I had to drop everything on my plate, which was A LOT, but instead of freaking out I simply changed directions and went with the flow.

The “letting go” had a profound effect on my stress levels and overall mindset – as did the events as they unfolded over the course of the next few days.

I mentioned last week I took my stepmother in for surgery in this video food diary. I was feeling “food stressed” in that video, and you can probably SEE on my face how stressed and anxious I’ve been lately.

It’s mostly overwhelm – with work, the house, personal stuff, upcoming trips – mostly work, just normal life stuff we all manage with all the different hats we wear on any given day.

Monday started out normal: me feeling anxious and stressed (lol) with a huge list of things to get done this week sitting in front of me, and me digging in to tackle it head on.

I had been checking in on my stepmother’s recovery over the weekend, and I was concerned about how that was going. I had a gut feeling I should go over there, but she had a friend staying with her to help out. When she called me on Monday though, I *knew* I needed to drop everything and GO.

She takes care of my father who has Parkinson’s and dementia, which is pretty much around the clock care, and not easy work. I can tell you now after staying there a few days, she does it with so much love and grace, which is simply beautiful.

I canceled everything on my schedule, threw together a quick “go bag” (including some low carb foods, bars and snacks) left my mile long to-do list sitting on my desk, and walked out the door – with Slim too of course, my great dane.

That list waited right there for me, just like I expected it would. 😉

My father is doing great by the way…

I got to give him a bath, give him a foot and hand massage, put him on a video call with my sister – and see him laugh so hard he cried. 💕

Terri is doing well now too, taking it easy and waiting for her next surgery, which we also got scheduled while I was there.

This is the update I shared once I got home and rested:

The last 72 hours have been a humbling lesson in gratitude and priorities (and love) and have me seriously rethinking things.⁣
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All the things I rush to get done, get anxious about, stress over, push myself to start or finish, the things I give my time & attention to (priorities), what I worry about, etc…⁣
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All made insignificant in an instant, easily dropped, not that big of a deal.⁣
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Completely changing how you spend your days (your hours, your time, your LIFE) can be very enlightening.⁣
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It gave me opportunity to ponder my goals vs my priorities, and why I wasn’t making those goals a priority, and how I’ve been spending my days instead.⁣
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Goals are just a glorified wish list. Priorities are the things you actually DO – big difference.⁣ 🎯
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Having to let things go for a couple days made me realize some things I give a high importance in my usual daily routine (attaching self imposed stress & pressure), aren’t all that important at all – and aren’t even on my list of goals or priorities.⁣
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It also gave me a fresh perspective on what’s really important.⁣ ✔
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This is what I call a “pattern interruption” – where you break out of the dailies, the things you do out of habit, practically on autopilot.⁣
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You can do this in a single day even, intentionally.

I often have this same enlightenment and sense of calm, peace and gratitude when I drop everything and go spend a day in the woods hiking.⁣
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Stepping out of the norms, the daily flurry of thoughts & activities (and usual concerns & stress), is a great way to find clarity – and calm.⁣
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I feel ready to tackle the world again (my world)… in a whole new way.⁣

My biggest realization was that I’m trying to do entirely too much at once, and maybe not even the right things (or the things that MATTER most).

I found myself drawn to SIMPLIFY – my work, my home, my entire life.

I felt a DEEP sense of gratitude, for so many little things – all those little details you take for granted while you’re distracted by your busy life…
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Take some time to STOP and step out of your routine, to look at it from the outside.⁣

Seriously – take a day off from your normal routine and all the things you HAVE to do, or just half a day off maybe, and do NOTHING. Or do something totally different.
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The sky won’t fall, I promise.⁣ 😉
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Ask yourself: how can I be MORE happy, LESS stressed, more productive, more fulfilled… and ENJOY my daily life more?

Tip: the best way to do that is to NOT think too hard about it, but to simply STOP and just BE (outside your usual space and busy-ness), and let the answers come to you.

Because they’re already within you.

Then use those answers to realign your time and your priorities… 💕

Best,
Lynn Terry,
aka @LowCarbTraveler

p.s. Spending that time with family was priceless. Seeing my father laugh so hard is etched in my mind and keeps making me smile.⁣ 🙂

Apologies if this seems a little scattered, I’m still processing it all and working out a new flow here, but wanted to share my thoughts with you while they’re fresh on my mind. ❤️ *cheers*