Try: Tackling a Craft

Try knitting, then knit something absurd to put on a baby. Then take a photo and never use it again. Just remember, after the absurd knits comes the cool stuff you actually use over and over again.

You don't have to be good to start knitting. Not at all. And check this excerpt from a recent NY Times piece by Jane Brody, The Health Benefits of Knitting:

Knitting and crocheting can lower heart rate and blood pressure and reduce harmful blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The father of a prematurely born daughter reports that during the baby’s five weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit, “learning how to knit preemie hats gave me a sense of purpose during a time that I felt very helpless. It’s a hobby that I’ve stuck with, and it continues to help me cope with stress at work, provide a sense of order in hectic days, and allows my brain time to solve problems.”

I will literally teach you how to do basic knit (just like this) if you join the BV Slack room. We could even google hangout. Why not? Sounds relaxing.

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try: Taking a Bath with a Podcast

Reminder: these are good things, both together or separately. If you're lucky enough to have the time, why not become happy woman with her massive headphones & bubbles? 

Also, books are always there, ready to change out your mind's broken record. Here's a novel recommendation if nothing's coming to mind: The Brothers Sisters by Patrick Dewitt. Man, was that a great book.

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try: Online Yoga

Ekhart yoga is an online yoga classes, so you can do it from home or on the go. You subscribe for access, but you can try it out for a month for just a $1. So that's cool. 

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try: Taking a Walk

Easier said than done. But just getting up and going for a 10 minute walk can melt the snowball a bit.

The Human app helps you to be active for 30 minutes a day and tells you if you've hit that 10 min walk level with a pretty design. I find that having a small goal--just go to the library--can get me out of the house, and that's what it takes to start feeling better.

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try: Making a Playlist

I find that getting immersed in a project helps switch my mind out of the overthinking mode and into a feeling of flow.  My wish: that it were possible to attach cover art to the music I'm putting together to create a mood, the way we used to back in the 80s/90s. If that were easy to do on Spotify or Apple Music, I'd recommend that you create art on an app called LogoScopic. That's fun to do anyway, why not? It gets you creating.

If you don't feel like making a playlist, fear not. You could give this one a try. It's the OFFICIAL Beautiful Voyager playlist. I'm psyched about it.

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try: A Meditation App

By this point, there are hundreds of meditation apps. I keep it simple. I started subscribing to Headspace in Jan 2015 and have never looked back.

I picked up one more source for meditations along the way. Tara Brach is a wise teacher and guide. Her talks are available by subscribing to her podcast. Here is what she says about our itchy desire to figure out a solution for everything that might come up:

You have a unique body and mind, with a particular history and conditioning. No one can offer you a formula for navigating all situations and all states of mind. Only by listening inwardly in a fresh and open way will you discern at any given time what most serves your healing and freedom. If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try: Having a Conversation Outside Your Comfort Zone

I'd rather text too, btw. Always. Maybe text to hang out, then try the comfort zone convo?

If you don't usually reveal much about how you're feeling, try sharing something. If you're an over-revealer, sit back and learn about something new. If you talk to hide discomfort, try being quiet to see what happens. If you hate talking....you get the picture.

Get over the initial discomfort. Break the action down into something super small...one small comfort zone step at a time. 

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!

Try to: Structure Your Eating

This one came from Abdullah Alhomoud, whose essay is part of the Beautiful Voyager Medium publication. He says,

I work out, so I eat to build muscle. Seeing direct results from eating means I will keep eating enough and eating right. It gives me control over something I can control (my body), which helps with anxiety.

Disordered eating is an umbrella term that refers to a variety of eating behaviors. The experiment here is to try to create regularity and structure in your eating. Set clear goals, and remove choas and confusion when possible. 

(Note: I try to do that by streamlining my decisions. This insightful article, by The New Yorker's Maria Konnikova, explains why I always that's important to me.)

If this experiment works for you, hit the heart to let others know they should give it a try!