Turning down the volume
Photo by Olga Nayda on Unsplash
Remember when your parents would turn down the volume in the car because they couldn’t drive with all that noise? You’ve probably caught yourself doing the same thing with your kids too.
Setting aside the fact that we’re all slowly turning into our own parents, there’s something to be said for the volume level across our lives becoming too loud.
“Adulting” is nothing if not feeling like we have more to do than time allows — and thinking there’s no possible way we’ll ever get it all done.
While we often face this angst by pushing through as best as we can, it eventually catches up with us. This usually presents itself in feeling burnt out, numb, or both.
So what, if anything, can we do to make it all more tolerable?
We need to be proactive about turning down the volume level in our lives.
Here’s a quick three step approach to do just that:
1. Start noticing where you’re at volume-wise
Take a moment to step back and check in with yourself.
Are you feeling more frustrated and quicker to snap than usual?
Have you reverted to doom scrolling on your phone to escape your daily life?
These might be signs that you’re approaching burn out or starting to feel numb to it all.
Assessing where you’re at and how you’re feeling right now is a necessary first step to turn down the volume.
2. Identify actions that help bring you back to your baseline
Once you’ve checked in with yourself, the next step is to find simple and accessible actions that help you reset. Here are some examples to get you started:
Taking a few deep breaths.
Walking around the block.
Closing your eyes for five minutes.
Reading a book rather than picking up your phone.
This will take some trial and error but when you hit on an action that’s particularly helpful to you, make sure you write it down. You want to compile a ready to go list of activities that help you get back to your baseline.
3. Build habits around those actions that help
How can you incorporate your action list into your day-to-day?
The more you practice the actions that help you reset, the more routine they become. And that’s the real unlock here.
Building habits for dealing with life’s noise into your daily routine helps you turn down the volume level which makes it easier to notice the world around you again.
Will your volume level still spike out of control from time to time?
Of course.
But when you’ve built these new habits, you’re ready to manage those spikes – no matter how many you might face in this car ride we all call life.