Listen to the Birds

When I rush, when I’m irritated, when I’m over-planning or overthinking — I know my tank is running near empty, and it’s best to conserve my energy until I have time to recharge.

It is Friday, and despite the intense situations around me, I am able to support myself by focusing on what is right in front of me. This morning, I began composing a response for a meeting I had at nine, and I felt the anxiety growing — so I stopped. I said to myself: It’s 6am. I am walking the dog. The meeting is at nine. You have choices. You can continue to cycle through responses and get more anxious, or you can listen to the birds. And you know what? The nine o’clock meeting was fine.

Our inner critic can see everything as a five-alarm fire emergency — and yes, those situations do happen. But one isn’t happening right now. So as Friday ends, it is time to recharge.

When your inner critic is treating an everyday moment like a five-alarm emergency, what’s one small thing that helps you come back to what’s actually in front of you?