The Intentional Effort
- Lexi Penhorwood
- Jun 1, 2022
- 4 min read
Whether it be childhood trauma, attachment issues, or our first heartbreak. We all deal with baggage now as adults — Whether it’s our communication skills, or lack there of. Or, our fighting styles, and the way we run instead of facing our issues head on. We all have some sort of ”flaw” and nobody discusses how quickly that is formed.
Habits take a solid 21 days to create. And, just as much, a solid 90 days to change, when it comes to talking about what has now become - a lifestyle. If we all took the intentional effort, and put even as small as a half an hour into our daily routine, to sit down and really focus on putting the work in to break these patterns, I think a lot of us would know what real peace feels like.
But, for some of us, it’s too much to acknowledge. Or maybe, the comfort of the negative habits is more enticing than the discomfort of letting them go. Whatever it may be, we all find some peace in our vices.
Here are some quick and easy ways to start implementing self discovery into your days:
Yoga. As much as I’m not the first one to recommend this, as forms of it can be more harmful than good, I do believe our body stores more trauma than we’d like to believe. Spending thirty minutes in the morning or before bed identifying what parts of your body are aching, and maybe even, looking deeper into understanding why can be a major step into listening to your body further than just what your mind thinks is wrong.
An intentional self care routine. Again, spending thirty minutes before bed or even to begin your mornings, this can be an easy way to provide some love an attention back into yourself and really begin to focus on you. Focus on whatever it is, that may bring just a bit more relaxation to you. This can be as small as braiding your hair, combing your eyebrows, and throwing on lip balm. This doesn’t have to be hollywoodized. It’s setting time aside to make sure you’re focusing intentionally on yourself for atleast part of your day.
Keeping up on a diet. This doesn’t have to be crazy, nor does it have to be about weight. If you know gluten makes you feel awful, and water makes you feel great. Then, take some time to focus on the ingredients you’re in taking, and make sure to make your lemon water. Simply because - It’s intentional.
Spending time to connect with yourself. Whether this be talk therapy, or venting to a friend. Talking through our problems, can lead to being able to have conversations with ourselves that lead to being able to find solutions in the things that tend to bother us. Begin to connect with yourself, start to guide yourself, and have those conversations. If this is too in-depth, take a minute to message me, and let’s go over some simple daily prompts to help begin in the right directions of asking those important questions and having the conversations with yourselves that will eventually need to be had in order to find change.
Simple exercise. This is a given. Pete Davidson states that the way he found it easiest to program his BPD/Depression symptoms, was coordinating and planning. Knowing you wake up in the mornings, with your mind already programmed to pessimism may be as simply easy to fix with just a walk in the mornings. Giving yourself time to plan an activity, that intentionally sparks dopamine is a good step in the right direction when it comes to reprogramming.
Talk yourself out of your habits. This one sounds silly, but look - If you wake up in the morning, and you hit the shower, and you see a body in the mirror that you’re constantly dissing or whatever it may be, intentionally say something you normally wouldn’t. Like yeah, on a regular, I don’t like the way my hips look, but hey, today I’m going to be intentional on telling myself that I love the way my waist curves instead, and doing this on a regular basis - instead of wasting the time and energy to focus on the negativity and shine light on it, is another really easy and good way to reprogram the way your days and your mindsets end up.
There’s so much more that plays into affect when it comes to reprogramming. Because that’s really all that it is, reprogramming your habits, your thinking, and your patterns that ultimately lead you down the path of attachment issues, communication issues, fighting styles, etc. It all has to begin somewhere - But, taking the intentional time and effort to really focus into yourself and your goals and having those conversations to begin to break the habits that tend to lead your days drained and in a drought is really the beginning step.
As Always,
Thanks For Coming to My Ted Talk.
If you wanna discuss more, you know where to hit my line.
Begin the month off right, intentional, and healthily.
Alexis Penhorwood | Building Blocks | 06.01.22
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