Hello! 👋 

Welcome to Issue 18 of the weekly Chronic Evolution newsletter, where I share mindfulness tips, tricks, and anecdotes to help you evolve your mindset in 5 minutes or less.

Let’s get right into it.

5 Small Ways To Plant Seeds of Kindness so You Can Harvest a Mentally Peaceful Life

Has your life ever moved really fast and really slow all at once?

It’s those moments when you’re pushing hard towards a goal or controlling a certain outcome, but then it finally comes, and you’re left wondering whether it’s what you really wanted in the first place.

The inability to relax and unplug on your vacation.

The crushing uncertainty that hits you the day after you quit your 9-5. (Or adopt a cat 😅.)

The anxiety that comes when you start a new relationship and push them away before they can get close.

Have you ever felt that way?

I have. And I don’t enjoy the feeling. I created some go-to strategies for when I find myself in one of these restless, frantic moments to help me find mental peace and stillness. I hope they serve you well, too.

1. Own up

The first strategy requires facing yourself in the mirror and being brutally honest.

In the words of Jenna Kutcher, it’s asking yourself, “How are you, really?”

No hiding. No putting on a face for those around you. Get honest about how you’re feeling at this moment and whether your current situation is serving you. Are you struggling with the mental load required to run your present-day life?

Taking the time to ask yourself how you’re doing – and being willing to accept and face the raw, unfiltered response – is a kindness that will pay dividends down the road.

Action step: Identify where you’re struggling or unhappy in your life. Don’t worry about fixing anything just yet.

2. Be honest

Have you ever thought about what a dream day looks like for you? No limitations, no what ifs – what does an ideal 24 hours mean to you?

Maybe it includes more time to knit chunky sweaters or enough money to buy a morning latte guilt-free every day. Perhaps it means waking up with your love beside you, sinking into meditation, and then jumping in your backyard pool together.

Practice kindness by removing the limit from your innermost dreams and desires.

Action step: Define what you want without limitations so you have a clear vision of what you’re working toward. Write out your dream day so you can refer back to it.

3. Take baby steps

How do you get to where you want to go when the chasm between here and there feels insurmountable?

Baby steps, of course!

Taking small steps toward your dream day is ideal because it eliminates all of the planning and worries that can come up if you were to try to create a master 6-month Plan To Optimize Your Life. You'd spend all your time drafting the plan only to drag your feet when it came time to implement. (What’s that, your bathroom needs a deep clean, you say?)

Baby steps don’t need plans – you can just jump in and do them immediately. For example, one of my goals is to declutter my home. Today I’m taking a baby step by moving an old blender out of my kitchen. I’ve let go of the pressure to tackle my entire apartment all in one go.

Action step: Identify one baby step you can take today to get closer to your desired state. Repeat daily.

4. Let your inner child play.

We spend so much of our time being serious. We put on serious clothes to work serious jobs so we can be financially independent and pay our serious bills and buy fancy stuff.

I think sometimes it’s made us forget how to have fun.

This past week I spent time at the beach playing in the waves with my sister. We belly laughed until we snorted water out our noses. My soul felt full.

Not everything in life has to be Serious Business. Play is important too.

Action step: Make time for play! If you aren’t sure where to begin, check out this Ted Talk by play researcher Dr. Stuart Brown.

5. Attract, don’t chase

The very act of chasing something implies a lack energy. It’s desperation. It’s focusing on the fact that you don’t have what you want.

When you relax into the here and now and give gratitude for what you do have and where you are on your journey, your whole energy shifts.

Suddenly you’re focused on abundance – and what you focus on expands. This simple but powerful switch in your mindset can help you attract your desires. (And feel much more peaceful in the process.)

Action step: Adopt the mindset that what’s meant for you will never pass you.

Final thoughts

Cultivating mental peace is partly about identifying and going after your Big Desires in life, but it’s also about learning how to appreciate the present moment. Having the courage to do what is necessary to live a great life – not just a good one – is an act of kindness toward yourself.

Here are your TL; DR action steps to take away from this post:

• Identify where you’re struggling or unhappy in your life.

• Write out what your dream day looks like with no limitations.

• Identify one baby step you can take today to get closer to your desired state. Repeat daily.

• Make time for play!

• Repeat: “What’s meant for me will never pass me.”

To your chronic evolution,

Carly 

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