When Life Gets Too Much to Handle, Use This "Re-Grounding" Technique
AKA my life this week
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I think I’ve f**ked up.
Because right now, my life is anything but simple. And I write about living a simple, sustainable life.
Oops.
In the last week alone I’ve traveled to three different places, each a 2-6 hour journey apart. I’ve slept a night here in a hotel, and a night there in an awful Airbnb I left the second the sun rose. I’ve been with friends every night. I’ve drunk waaaaay too much beer.
My work has suffered, my mental health even more so.
I’ve even started to question my decision to live on the road. Things I desperately need are almost impossible to get with this lifestyle. Therapy for one (alas, online therapy just doesn’t work for me). Medical issues are another. It’s impossible to get a doctor’s appointment when you’re bouncing around.
You might know the feeling - when life gets Too Much. How the heck do you stop this runaway train?
Friends, it’s time to talk about re-grounding.
***
Have you ever stopped to consider how many of your daily tasks are required vs how many of them you bring on yourself?
Take work - for most people, that’s a need. Looking after kids to ensure they don’t accidentally injure themselves? Definitely a need.
But there are so many tasks and commitments we bring into our lives that we don’t really need:
I don’t need to travel every couple of days.
Your kids don’t need to go to every single after-school activity.
You don’t need to have so much stuff in your house that continually adds mountains of tasks to your silent to-do list.
Most of our wants get in the way of the important parts of life. Friends, family, and making enough money to live a life (but not so much to destroy it). Fun. Contentment. Living a life with less stress and more purpose.
This week, I’ve let my wants (to travel to a lot of different places in a short period of time) get in the way of my needs (meaningful work, less stress). And I’m suffering for it.
Enter re-grounding.
The official definition of grounding is to spend time literally grounded to the earth. Shoes off, feet on ground.
Re-grounding - or at least my concept of it - is like giving yourself a stern talking to then re-establish anything that helps you live a simpler existence. You re-ground your life.
My breaking point happened last night. I was in one of my favorite bars in Croatia surrounded by friends I’d not seen in a year. I was having a great time but I was exhausted. I’d just spent five hours on windy roads through both Bosnia and Croatia after sleeping almost nada the night before.
That medical condition I mentioned? It reared its ugly head at the bar. This is a stress-related condition that I can literally control by, well, being less stressed.
FFS Charlie, I thought. WTF are you doing? You don’t need to be here, you could be in bed. You’re about to spend three nights with these people, they won’t mind if you head off before you order your third cocktail.
That was the stern talking to.
Then came the re-ground.
For the next three days I’m taking part in the World Olive Picking Championship. Yep it’s a thing, and yep it’s awesome. We came fifth last year, so here’s hoping for a podium spot tomorrow.
Once that is over I have two weeks in Zagreb, a city I know and love very much.
I am going to spend this time in Zagreb to focus on re-simplifying my life. I’m going to re-establish my morning routine. I’m going to say no to commitments I don’t have to keep. I’m going to slow down. Take my time. Run every other day. Walk on the others. Write. Read. Sit in the sun. Cook at home. Cut the booze. I’m going to do everything I have to do in order to “re-ground” myself as an utmost priority.
To get back to what really matters in life.
It’s a tried and tested method, one that I have used many times before. If you feel overwhelmed:
Give yourself that stern talking to.
List activities that fill your energy tank, not deplete it.
Focus on those activities.
Cancel anything that can be canceled.
Focus on the main goal. Mine for instance is to halt my stress-related issues. Everything I do for the foreseeable will be with that goal in mind.
It’s about cutting out the fluff.
It can be quick, too. You could cancel an appointment right now. You could take a moment with a cup of coffee outside. I’ve just taken my laptop out to my hotel balcony to work from. It’s a little thing to feel less stressed.
I feel like I say this every week but I’m saying it again. Life wants you to be both busy and stressed and we often let it win. It’s just too easy to succumb, even in the most simplified of lives.
But we all have limits. When it gets too much - when you get to breaking point - try this re-grounding technique. Stop, re-focus and cut the fluff.
Remember why the heck you’re trying to simplify your life in the first place. There’s no point trying to live a simple life if you don’t get to reap the benefits at least some of the time.
And let me know how you get on.
Setting up your weekend
3 articles from my collection (paywall free)
The Exact Simple Financial Strategy That Lets Me Travel the World Full-Time
5 Simple Living Traits I’ve Picked up from 2 Years Living in Continental Europe
The best pieces of content I’ve consumed this week
YouTube: Olive picking World Championships.
OK not the best piece of content but fun nonetheless. This was my team’s presentation for last year’s competition. We put it together in an hour in the lobby of the hotel moments before the competition started. Can you tell?!
Music: TSHA’s Capricorn Sun
A recommendation from my brother, I’ve had this album on repeat this week. Garage, house, pop and R&B, it’s all in there and it’s all excellent.
Article - So You Want to Work Remotely: A Guide. The New York Times
I was delighted to see some familiar faces in this New York Times article. As they say, once you’re in the NYT, you’re mainstream. Remote work is what I do, it’s what millions of us do, but it’s still wildly misunderstood. If you’re interested in exploring it for yourself, read this.
World Olive Pickling Championship?! Good luck!