Hey, friend -

In general, I believe in a benevolent Universe.

But in the past 8 weeks:

• My husband wrecked his finger in a power tool incident.
• One kid spent several days in the ICU on a ventilator.
• The other kid had her car window smashed in.
• One of my dogs required $2K in unanticipated veterinary care.

Not that I'm keeping track or anything, but that's a biweekly emergency.

I'm a good person. I catch and release spiders and return my shopping cart to the corral.

So, what's the deal, Universe? I mean, C'MON!

I bet you've had days/weeks/months/years like this, too.

If so, you might tempted to try to figure out WHY.

But not everything happens for a reason, so sometimes there is no why. There's only WHAT NOW.

Today, I'm going to tell you about a short-term WHAT NOW that's been especially helpful to me lately...

Pep Talk #035: Be a zebra.
Some time ago, I read Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle, from which I learned that even after a stressor has ended, our body's stress response continues.

Unless we do something about it.

One thing to do about it—one thing that can help bring our stress cycle full-circle and let our nervous system know it can chill out–is something physical.

Exercise, breathe, laugh, cry.

Again, TELLING ourselves the stress is over doesn't do anything. We have to do something to prove it. Otherwise, the stress hormones just keep flowing and we risk burning to a crisp, one nerve ending at a time. (This is an inelegant explanation. Just go with it.)

If you're the NatGeo type, you've no doubt seen zebras shake when they've outrun a lion. They do that instinctively to discharge all that nervous energy—all that stress. It's a signal to their nervous system that they're safe.

So I've being doing that same thing. When my nervous system is all buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, I shake it out. Literally.

Here's how it works:

Pick a song. (This one's fun.)
1. Plant your feet.
2. Bounce your legs, letting your shoulders rise and fall naturally.
3. Exhale forcefully through your mouth.
4. Yell a little, if you want.
5. Swing your arms around.
6. Flail around a bit, it it feels good. Remember: You're shaking all that nervous energy out of your body. (My friend Erika calls this "freaking TF out.")
7. When you're done, stop, close your eyes, and take some deep belly breaths. Take a sec to notice how different you feel.

Good job, friend: You've outrun the lion. You're safe.

This is not just for "emergencies." This works for dealing with an asshole ex, navigating frustrating client situations (I don't have any of those), processing an argument with your partner, and just run-of-the-mill stress.

Give it a try and let me know what you think, 'kay?

From your woo-adjacent friend,
Kelley

P.S. The dog had hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, which is every bit as crime scene as it sounds. 0/10 recommend. Now taking donations for new area rugs.