Start Small.
written by Jessica Watson.
Start small.
When you are feeling overwhelmed and life is feeling difficult, start small.
By gaining control of one small area of life it can leave us with a seed of accomplishment that can be built upon. Often in the state of low mood we have no idea even where to even begin. Building routines and rituals help to ground us and give order and structure to the day, so I ask my clients to start with a mug.
Think of your first drink of the day and start with the vessel in which you drink from. Pay attention to the shape and weight, the colour, the decoration.
I ask you to pick a mug or cup that represents you, your style, that feels good to drink form and gives you a sense of joy. Maybe its associated with a person or memory. By looking closely at our surroundings and making choices that reflect us we start to know ourselves in ways that can help with the bigger picture.
My cup is Old & Gold.
My cup is old, a Royal Winton, it’s gold and big it comes with a saucer that I don’t use, if it were a person, it would be Diana Dors or Bet Lynch. It contains my morning coffee, strong espresso with frothy hot full fat milk. There is a ritual to making it, in putting all the components together to create the perfect taste and consistency. I like to cradle it in my hands and warm my fingers, anticipating the taste. I chipped my cup whilst washing up and was devastated, but as a reformed perfectionist I decided to collect the pieces up and glue them back in place. Reminded each day when I look at the chip, that we are good enough, even when cracked and imperfect. For the same reason I am drawn to wobbly hand thrown mugs, the fact they have been squeezed through another’s fingers and lovingly made, it connects me to another human, our fingers almost touch.
Choosing the objects and tastes we like helps us build a picture of who we are and makes decision making easier the more information we gather. Maybe we are faced with looking for a new job or partner which can look like an overwhelming task. Knowing who we are can make that process so much easier, so we start small.
I have found the reactions of my clients incredibly telling as to the underlying thought processes they are using, some struggle to chose for fear of getting it ‘wrong’ or struggle to ‘know’ who they are. When they finally pin it down and choose, there is a feeling of jubilance, which is no small moment, they have discovered a piece of who they are, reclaimed it and can now celebrate it each morning.
Whilst it seems a small thing, it is the seeds we plant that grow into change, they are the rituals and routines which enable us to weather the storms, the constants that anchor us to the day. Make them things you enjoy and cherish, it’s self-care in its truest form.
Comments