You’re headed back to school & the daily routine.
You’re both excited about the year and what’s to come, and simultaneously you are feeling overwhelmed with all of the ideas in your head that you want to actualize. If only there were enough hours in the day to jump into every area of your life that you want to see yourself progress.
Your friends, family & classmates are buzzing with all of their New Year's Resolutions they want to accomplish and despite yourself, you end up wanting to jump on those bandwagons too and do e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! There’s an energy in the air that feels inspiring, encouraging, and full of hope. But as you start to settle into doing school & work on top of everything else and suddenly you feel like you are drowning in a sea of to-do’s that may be impossible to accomplish and still stay sane. But you’re unwilling to jump ship on your aims, so how can you temper them enough to balance everything and still have a life?
Here are three tips to consider to help you strive for excellence while stepping out of the anxiety loop & perfectionism:
It’s Okay to Pivot:
New Year's Resolutions can be a time to reflect, consider, and look ahead. But in the high energy of the season & the chatter, we can often jump into the deep end of the pool of dreams or goals. Or we get caught up in the excitement and choose WAY too many things to feel successful in our attempts without being super rigid, super anxious, or neglecting key factors of physical or emotional wellness (such as sleep, connection, etc).
It is so tempting to stick to the course we outlined or declared as our goals for the year. We fear that if we change our minds, our stance, or our goals we will be judged or looked down upon. Most often the fear of judgment does not actually turn into a reality. Most people are great at respecting our decisions to change our minds. Oftentimes when we state what pivot we are making, those around us will just roll with it and may even admit that they have changed courses as well. It’s human nature to get part way down a path and realize it’s in our best interest to pivot to a modified or different course altogether.
Consider Choosing a Theme or a Word:
Sometimes it is easier to choose a word or a theme for the year that you are striving towards. This approach will often lead to more flexibility while continuing to move forward in learning and growth. This also helps when competing goals bump up against each other, this approach gives us direction vs specificity. Maybe your anxiety propels you into avoidance on a regular basis and you are tired of feeling held hostage.
You may choose a word such as “Approach” because anxiety will go down when we approach the subject we want so much to avoid. Or maybe you could choose something to help you feel more resilient in the face of anxiety and you choose the word “Rest & Play” because you’re anxiety propels you into overdrive and excessive action and you struggle to slow down and rest or you have a hard time giving yourself permission to take a break and have fun on a regular basis.
This approach orients us towards something that when considered over time, will allow us to integrate a new perspective or approach to improve the quality of our life or well-being. Gradual change is often the change that tends to stick!
One Thing At a Time:
This may not be the most popular approach, but it can still move the needle forward in your life without causing unnecessary anxiety or unrealistic expectations. Choose one thing to focus on for a set length of time, for example, maybe you need to be more focused on school. You might set an aim to spend x amount of time at the library this semester instead of studying at home because you’ve realized you don’t focus as well at your apartment. Or you may realize that you can get so deep into studying that your anxiety spins you out and you lose the ability to have fun and be relaxed.
So, you may opt to limit your homework time and put boundaries about when you will not do your homework,-maybe you will take part or all of the weekend off from studying and spend it doing things that increase connection & joy in your life. Either way, you choose an aim or goal for a specific length of time, and then when the time frame is up, you choose another time frame and another aim that will help you create growth.
Begin Therapy for Anxiety in Salt Lake City, UT
If you find that you struggle to let things go or if you get rigid or frustrated when you can’t execute in the way you want to, help is available. Our team of therapists would be honored to support you. You don’t have to live in your anxiety, self-judgment, and in a constant state of distress. Help is available, high functioning anxiety is our jam. You can start your therapy journey with Inside Wellness by following these simple steps:
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Other Services Offered with Inside Wellness
Our team understands you may experience a number of mental health concerns in addition to anxiety treatment. This is why we are happy to offer support with a variety of mental health services including body image counseling, eating disorder therapy, and online Therapy in Utah.