Who would you BE if you let go of your habitual patterns of negative inner dialogue and worry? Who would you be without all that relentless self-judgment and sneaky self-criticism? What would your life look and feel like?

Freeing yourself from the incessant rabble of your mind is essential in order to cause breakthrough and positive transformation in your life. But whilst you might know this, are you really prepared to make that kind of change? What would it take? And who might you be if you left behind that old life template…because deep down, you might be quite attached to it, yes? Get curious about that.

There’s also another possibility why you suddenly become overwhelmed with challenging thoughts or feelings, particularly if you’re a more sensitive soul. Now this may sound a bit whack to some of you, but the reason – at least in part – may actually be that you’re picking up something from the collective human consciousness. For no good reason you just suddenly start feeling uneasy, flat, or succumb to a state of hopelessness. Now, not to abscond responsibility, or dwell excessively in the realms of the esoteric, but those feelings may not even be yours as, increasingly, science shows we’re all connected.

We’re living in a vastly different world from our parents. It’s an infinitely more complex place here on Earth. Human consciousness is a rising feature on our planet and, whilst this is ultimately positive, we’re living in a time of overwhelming information, stimulation and, for many, a heightened awareness of what’s going on in other parts of the world at any given time, which can be both wonderful and shocking. We’ve become infinitely and intricately more connected. And it’s a lot for the human system to take in. ‘Overwhelm’ is a theme of our current times, so finding simple and achievable ways to move out of overwhelm is critical to your health and wellbeing.

In response to the ‘chaos energy’ that is heightened right now on earth, you may feel compelled to really stretch yourself in big ways or do very bold things, but firstly, just be a little cautious and really check in with yourself that your actions are not in excessive reaction to overwhelm.

The best way to deal with overwhelm is to keep things small, simple, and deal with one thing at a time. In order to better look after yourself, particularly in these stressful times, ask yourself what is one simple thing you can add to your daily routine that supports your wellbeing. This could be something like exercise, a spiritual practice, avoiding sugar, or it may even be watching some comedy. It doesn’t matter what it is – just don’t get into judging yourself about whatever it is. In fact, don’t get into judging yourself at all. Just stop it. Judgment simply ties up your energy, so stop wasting your time investing in stories and self-judgment that what you’re doing is wrong. This is a real trap that generally only creates inner tension, anxiety and extra overwhelm to add to your existing overwhelm.

So watch the stories you tell yourself. And instead of judging these, just be curious and have a little wonderment about yourself. For example, even if you know you keep procrastinating about something, observe your pattern of judging that…watch it like it’s somewhere on the other side of the room, from a DETACHED place, because often it’s the JUDGMENT that’s actually holding the negative pattern in place. What I mean is, there’s a part of you that is habitually attached to the judgment…which is hiding a false inner belief that you probably aren’t even aware of – a place where you’re literally stuck in a closed loop…until, hopefully, you become fed up enough with the poor patterns and life creations and are open to transforming them and yourself.

Simply observing the judgment, rather than getting into a battle with it, can be one of the best ways to defuse the pattern. For example, you could respond inwardly like this: “Wow, that’s interesting, look at how I procrastinate. And look at how my mind then gives me a hard time about procrastinating. That’s interesting.” Observation is powerful, and awareness is key.

The lifting of self-judgment off yourself frees up your energy. You’ll find you’re less mentally and physically fatigued when you let go of a futile pattern of following up any poor habit with a judgment. Instead, it’s far more effective if you just notice your behaviour with a ‘wow, that’s what I do’ wonderment response. Or ‘wow, there I go again.’ Simply observe and acknowledge the habit that isn’t serving you, because when you can be that honest with yourself about poor habits, patterns, or that thing you’re ‘doing’ (including the habitual self-judgment), you free up an enormous amount of personal energy in your body. Self-honesty really is half your battle.

NOT judging yourself is a powerful liberator of energy. Being kinder and more loving to yourself is NOT selfish. It’s also not woo-woo, weak or pathetic. Any such ignorant statements or sentiment fired at you are the types of slings and arrows that typically come from people who are NOT very loving: mostly to themselves…let alone others.

So do yourself a huge favour and park that ol’ self-judgment chestnut. You’ll enjoy your life a lot more and become an easier person to be around. And while you’re at it, find some ways to create daily distance or space from chaotic global energy. Maybe that means choosing to listen to something a little more soothing than the news on your morning drive to work so you’re not amped up like a Navy Seal on high alert by the time you arrive: unless you’re part of a military Special Forces unit, all that adrenaline coursing through your body probably isn’t going to serve you.

Forget what you thought you knew. Harness the power of simplicity. Befriend your thoughts. And remember to breath.