This week I’ve been reflecting on avoidance. What strategies do you use to avoid the tasks you don’t want to do, the topics you don’t want to think about, the conversations you don’t want to have?
“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.” Nicole Kidman playing Virginia Woolf
This week the subject of avoidance has come up several times.
One lady avoiding conflict by keeping too busy, another tweaking her website repeatedly to avoid ‘starting’ her business, and one who is going to extraordinary lengths to avoid having certain conversations. The interesting thing that all three had in common was a real lack of awareness that they were actually avoiding anything.
Our brains are incredibly powerful but their primary function is to keep us safe and so we often convince ourselves that we are following the most logical, sensible and ‘correct’ path, instead of facing anything that might make us feel uncomfortable….
My question is ‘What’s the cost of all this avoidance? What are you losing out on by not facing things head on, by not taking that next step? Avoidance usually ends up harming rather than helping us – it exacerbates stress and negatively impacts wellbeing and confidence.
So this week here are some tips for facing life head on:-
🌟 Embrace reality by keeping a journal
🌟 Accept that success and failure are equal parts of our life experience
🌟 Give yourself permission to make mistakes
🌟 Focus on what you intend, what outcome you seek
🌟 Take responsibility for your actions and your feelings
🌟 Give energy to those relationships that support you
🌟 Challenge your assumptions
🌟 Break things into manageable chunks
🌟 Focus on daily gratitude
This gets easier over time. Please be kind to yourself and contact me if you’d like to discuss.
Lisa Zevi – January 2021