Here are my tips for living a “Not So Big” life.
- Do one thing at a time
Every time you fInd yourself multi-tasking, take a deep breath, decide which one requires your attention the most, and do only that one thing. If you believe you don’t have time to single task, remember that by multi-tasking you are, in fact, not doing either thing effectively because you are not completely engaged. You are not present in what you are doing, and so are not showing up in what is in front of you to do.
- Stay focused on now
Every time you find yourself worrying about something that happened in the past, or that is going to be happening in the future, recognize that you are not present in what’s happening right now. By constandy leaning forward into the future, or leaning backward into the past, you completely miss what’s really happening-where real living is taking place.
- Do something slowly
Take some activity that you do everyday and can do by yourself, like eating lunch, washing your hair, or drinking a cup of tea or coffee, and slow down the process to about one third of your usual speed. Observe the experience carefully. Ask yourself, what is different about it when it is accomplished this slowly? What thoughts arise in your mind? What do you notice about the tastes and textures, the smells and the sights of the experience?
This slowing down process can offer a window into the relativity of what we take for granted as the way things are. We can start to see that most of our actions are accomplished on automatic pilot, and we’re not really there in what we’re doing.
- Mix it up: Change a behavior pattern
All of us have patterns of behavior that we are strongly attached to, such as always wearing black, never wearing a watch, or running ten minutes late for everything. Make a conscious decision to change one of your most defIning behavior patterns for a month, and see what happens. Over the course of our lives we come to believe that our conditioned patterns are who we are, when in fact they are just habits that we’ve identifIed with and become attached to. When you change just one of two of these habitual ways of defIning yourself, you’ll fInd that everything else becomes more flexible as well.
- Remember your dreams
Identify those things you have always been passionate about, and recognize that it’s not too late to make them a part of your life today. You can pursue an interest or passion even if you don’t make your living at it. Often, the things we were passionate about as children are good indicators of natural proclivities that may have fallen by the wayside as you’ve moved into adulthood. By reintegrating these passions into everyday life, you’ll fInd they are accompanied by added vitality and energy for everything else you do as well.
Learn more about Sarah Susanka’s work on her website,
Not So Big Life
ReginaLove, that is SO great to hear! As for soy, it may help with menopause symptoms -- it it controversial. The best way to use soy is in the form of whole fermented soy foods (miso, tempeh, tamari and natto). Non-fermented soy foods such as soy mi
Agreed. I never thought I was vain until I had a mastectomy at age 39. I was devastated and told the doc I wanted to wake up with implants. Now at age 60, I am lopsided and wondering if I was just avoiding the inevitable. You get what you get and you
Sounds very interesting.
Spike, you are awesome! Love your perspective, thanks for sharing.
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