Eat, Sleep, Work, Repeat – Breaking the Cycle

Do you feel as if your life is a constant cycle of eat, sleep, work, repeat? Would you like to break this cycle? In my corporate life as a HR Director of a Global Company, I would get home most nights at 7pm (if I was lucky) and I would think to myself I only have 3 hours left of my day! I was on the hamster wheel from the rude awakening of the alarm clock at 7am, rushing to get out of the house and be at my desk at 8am. I would then trawl through emails, show up for meetings and WebEx calls, I had hardly any time for lunch and forget about going to the bathroom to pee!

Some days I felt like I would meet myself coming back with no time in between to think about the last meeting or prepare for the next one! I’m exhausted just thinking about it now! When I returned home frazzled from my day, I would get a meagre amount of time to do anything and then repeat the process all over again the next day. Looking back now, I know I was overworked and stressed out. I was getting to a point where I was resenting my job, the career I had once longed for and worked so hard for, and I felt increasingly unfulfilled.

You might be thinking that I’m describing your working day. Do you barely get an hour after work, and you have to stretch your time to be with your family too?

I was stuck in this unhealthy pattern, trapped in an endless cycle, and the thought that this was my life for the next 20 years was utterly depressing. I wanted to break free from this unhealthy way of living, but I just didn’t know how. The long and short of it is, I was unhappy. I was unhappy with my job and that was making me less productive and affecting my health. My energy was fading, and I had no clue what to do about it.

At the beginning of a workday or working week, I had great intentions of setting the alarm earlier so I could exercise or get to the gym. And how I would spend my evenings and weekends doing all of the things in my dreams of living an aspiring happy life. I would dream of myself working out, getting together with friends, getting my paints out and enjoying art again, cooking healthy meals, and of course searching for a job because I blamed my current job for not making me happy… I would dream and have great intentions of doing all the things that would bring me joy and create momentum in my life.

The problem was, I was just so exhausted after work, especially as I had got to a point where I was unhappy in my job and the place I worked was so draining. In reality, I would get home, open a bottle of wine, order a takeaway, and zone out in front of the TV with phone in hand, mindlessly scrolling until I would fall asleep on the sofa or drag myself to bed.

I was tired of the constant guilt I felt about the way my life was, and I would hear those voices in my head giving me a hard time about why I was living my life this way. Being so tired after work each day meant that days and weeks would go by, and I would continue in the trap of work, eat, sleep, repeat and I had no idea how to break the cycle.

Sound familiar?

Well, this cycle is totally normal, and it makes perfect sense why so many of us fall into this trap; I work with my clients on this particular issue all of the time. If only I could have found a coach, who could help me solve this problem as I do for my clients now. The reason why I can help is because I know how it feels when your soul is being slowly drained from you every day – I’ve been there!

Let’s be realistic, you can’t spend 8 hours a day feeling stressed, anxious, bored and exhausted, and then snap your fingers the moment you come home and go from drained to energised like magic.

Most of us like to think we have our lives all perfectly organised, and everything is compartmentalised in neat clean little boxes; work, relationships, health, hobbies… But in reality, life is messy, being human is messy, and no matter how much you try to separate the areas of your life, they all get intermingled throughout your day. Which means the energy from your working day follows you into your after-work time in the evenings and weekends.

Rituals

Unless you consciously decide enough is enough and break the unhealthy pattern. You can do that quite easily in creating a transitional ritual. I just love my rituals at the start of my day, at the end of my working day and before bed.

A ritual is something that grounds us in our current experience. Rituals create intention and presence and comfort, and they help us to put our lives into context.

I feel that the art of the ritual has got lost in our modern hectic lives and in knowing that rituals are psychologically, physically, emotionally, spiritually and symbolically powerful. If done consistently, rituals can actually rewire your brain. There are plenty of scientific studies to prove that people who have a ritual of practicing gratitude on a daily basis are happier overall.

If you’re feeling like the negativity and exhaustion of your working day is following you around into the rest of your life, it might be worth including a ritual at the end of your workday to transition from ‘working you’ to ‘real you’.

A great way to get started is with my 3 Golden Nuggets to help bring you back to living a life you love, being happier, healthier and fulfilled.

What you are looking to do is create a good transitional ritual that works for you. It’s anything that forces you to take a pause, regain some energy, clear your mind, calm your emotions and get better headspace. There’s not a one size fits all so see this as an experiment, try it out and check in after a few weeks of doing it to see how you feel at the end of it.

Top Tip

Try physical movement; go for a run, do yoga or dance to your favourite song. Or you could opt for stillness, such as meditation, journaling or reading something inspirational. You know yourself best so pick an activity that you know will refuel you.

Top Tip

Mark it in your calendar as an important part of your day, just as you do with other appointments. By doing your transitional ritual right after work ends, you will train your brain that now it’s time to shift gears and recharge, so you can enjoy the remaining time left in the day.

Top Tip

Be honest and gentle with yourself. If you decide to go all out and do a ritual for more than 30 minutes, sure you might do it for a few days, but pretty soon you’ll start skipping over it because you won’t feel like you have the time or energy. Short and sweet is best.

So, let’s summarise those Golden Nuggets again:

1. Refuel
2. Build a bridge
3. Short and sweet

I know that a transition ritual may not solve all your problems. If you’re in a miserable situation then it’s going to take some bigger changes to get you to a place of fulfilment and joy.

Unhealthy patterns and cycles have a way of continuing in an endless loop, unless something breaks the cycle. So, if you’re tired of the work, eat, sleep cycle you’re in, a transitional ritual might be exactly what you need to shake things up.

I also know it’s really difficult to make changes or even consider making changes when you’re burnt out and exhausted. This is where I can help, with my exclusive and intimate programme designed to help women awaken their limitless human potential, igniting their powerhouse and move forward with divine soul driven purpose.

A new life mastery and transformational programme TAILORED specifically for busy managerial and executive women who are seeking change in their life.

To find out more, book a call with me:

https://puravidayourlife.kartra.com/calendar/ThePuraVidaWayEnquiry

Or go to the registration page and sign up to get started: https://puravidayourlife.kartra.com/page/3MGCP

Thank you for joining me and I look forward to seeing you again next week for Pura Vida Your Life Happenings for insight, inspiration and more Golden Nuggets to help you live a happier and fulfilled life.

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Until next time – Pura Vida!