BE PREPARED!

As you probably know, I love to read. And while I love discovering new things to read, I love to re-read and re-read my favourites. One of those books I re-read a little of each day is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

In it, he wrote, ‘Rather than assume it’s impossible because you find it hard, recognise that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.’

On one hand, this means if something is humanly possible, you can do it, too. On the other hand, it also means you must be prepared for anything – because anything can happen to you.

Rather than looking at this pessimistically and expecting doom around every corner, take this as a reminder to be proactive and prepared. I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying, ‘Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.’ These are good words to live by. Making the choice to be prepared allows you to relax and be present in the moment, because you know you’re ready for anything. Being present in the moment means you enjoy life more.

The more prepared you are, the more gentle you can be with yourself if the you-know-what hits the fan.

Now, I want to emphasise that rather than stressing out and working overtime to prepare for any and all end-of-the-world disaster scenarios you can think of, I mean simply to have your ducks in a row so you can relax into the present moment. No need to stock up on canned goods in an underground bunker or create a zombie apocalypse emergency plan. (Although, to be fair, I know a lot of people who amuse themselves by coming up with zombie emergency plans – each to their own I suppose!)

Rather than becoming paranoid and freaking yourself out, instead just have enough of a plan to ensure you’ll be ok if something unexpected happens. You’ll feel more secure and safe knowing you have something to fall back on – and feeling safe allows you to open to more joy in your life.

I want to encourage you to do this for your emotional state, as this can be easy to ignore.

Emotions are ever-changing things, so how do you prepare for something so ethereal, and when you have no idea what it might be? This is one of the reasons I love my time reading Meditations – it gives me a moment to reflect on how I feel and then consider what I need. Practising this each day means I know how I feel when something comes up and by giving myself the time I deserve, I usually know what I then need. It gives me the knowledge of my own emotional state to be able to recognise what I need in any given moment. Your practice might look different – perhaps you’d prefer to meditate for fifteen minutes a day, or spend time journaling. Do whatever gives you that connection and knowledge of your emotions so you can be ready for anything life throws your way. 

The end game here is to feel safe enough to breathe in and have space to soak up the present moment. Because you’re worth it.

Tell me in the comments how you’ll create safety for yourself today – or even just your zombie emergency plans. 

As always, I remain a cheerleader for your inner self-worth,

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