Hi ,

We’ve all heard the old adage “step out of your comfort zone”. But what does the reality of this mean?

I’m going through this right now as I’ve quit my job and about to move my life to another country.

Yup, I’m moving from Amsterdam to Zurich! And going to head up the production team at a really exciting sportswear brand.

I can assure you stepping out of my comfort zone has been challenging, horribly uncomfortable and filled with self-doubt (so be careful what you wish for. HA!)

At the same time, it’s super exciting, exhilarating, and it’s lit a fire under my butt.

As you can imagine, it’s also quite confusing and messy with all of these conflicting emotions.

Once again, having mindfulness practices have helped me sit with, name and label, and be OK with all of these changing sensations, emotions, thoughts - rather than go down an anxiety spiral.

Here are 5 Good Things that have been helping me that could help you too as you navigate transitions of your own:

1. Develop a Growth Mindset: View challenges as opportunities for personal and professional development.
2. Practice Patience: Understand that progress takes time and it's important to be patient with yourself during transitions.
3. Reflect on Past Experiences: Consider previous times when you’ve stepped out of your comfort zone and reflect on what you learned. Here’s where a journaling practice can be helpful.
4. Identify Triggers: Recognize what specifically makes you uncomfortable and why. This can help you address the root cause of your discomfort.
5. Accept Imperfection: Understand that it's okay to not have everything figured out and making mistakes is part of the journey.

More things I’ve got up to that could also help you:

The fastest way to get out of your head is to get into your body - and when the body’s relaxed, the mind can more easily relax too. 

This is one of the reasons yoga nidra has been the doorway into meditation for me as it always includes a progressive relaxation of the body, also known as the body scan.

On World Meditation Day last month, Manduka invited me to collaborate on this. 

It’s a 10-minute guided body scan.

Bookmark it for next time you need to destress.

I’ve been using Pema Chodron’s Compassion Cards as a way to learn the Tibetan lojongs, but also to bring mindfulness into daily life.

Tibetan lojongs are 59 slogans to train your mind and open your heart. Each card contains a slogan on one side and a commentary of it on the other, kind of like study flashcards. 

For example: 

Lojong #4: "Self-liberate even the antidote"

Commentary: Don't hang onto anything - even the realization that there's nothing solid to hold onto.

I put a slogan up on my desk for a few days as my daily mindfulness reminder:

• 30-second video to see the deck in action.
• The cards.

Here are some journalling prompts to help you work through any areas of your life where you can apply some simple mindfulness practices:

I hope this helps you find more ease and rest this month.

If it helps keep you accountable, you're welcome to hit reply and share what you're working on. I reply to every email!