Elizabeth Gilbert’s 5 Tips for Reconnecting with Yourself
I had the pleasure of attending, an Academi of Life event titled “Conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert”. I had discovered Elizabeth Gilbert, by watching her TED conference talk, where she addresses a number of topics related to being creative – including fears and anxieties about “the work you were put on this Earth to do.” It is a “must watch”, and has become one of my favorite TED talks.
Hearing Elizabeth live was amazing and inspiring. As a presenter, she is outstanding! She is personable, connects with the audience, tells an amazing story, and is just fun to listen to. To lean more about the presentation aspects of the talk, read John Zimmer’s speech critique.
The Effects of Multitasking
Elizabeth’s message on “reclaiming & reconnecting with ourselves” inspired me the most.
Practically everything we do is sending energy outward. We are connected to the world 24×7 and are expected to read, think, and respond immediately. When we are not in front of our computers, we are on our mobile devices…we are either working or texting, twittering, facebooking, checking in with our friends and followers and we are constantly interrupted and we are multitasking and multitaskers are “lousy at everything that’s necessary for multitasking”. The studies show this and multitasking causes major stress, inhibits our creative ability, reduces our ability to problem solve, and it makes us slower thinker. It drains us and depersonalizes us.
We need to reclaim our personal and professional boundaries, reduce our stress levels, stay more focused on the task at hand and the goals ahead and we need to reconnect with ourselves to ensure that we are more balanced and more effective and efficient. Below are 5 tips that will allow you to reconnect with yourself and reclaim your life.
Elizabeth’s 5 Tips for Reconnecting with Yourself
- Say No
“I’ll say no to things that I used to instinctively say yes to, invitations that are wonderful, but I know will actually make me more tired the next day, more stressed”, says Elizabeth Gilbert.According to William Ury, director of the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard University, “No may be the most powerful word in the language, but it’s also potentially the most destructive, which is why it’s hard to say” and almost everyone has trouble saying No. If you’re not sure how to get started, read the 7 simple ways to say “No”.
- Schedule “Quiet” time
Whether it is ten minutes or an hour, make time where you spend with yourself, without TV, phone, computer, or any other distraction. Making this “Quiet” time a part of your schedule will ensure that you will make time for it.Elizabeth takes long walks. You can meditate, go for a walk, play with your dog, or anything else that brings you to a peaceful moment that is purely yours.In that silence and stillness, I met this other voice that I never had before, which is this older part of me—this calm, sedate, affectionate, forgiving, wise soul that watches my comings and goings and my spastic fears and desires and anger, and all the stuff that pulls on me and intercepts me before I get dragged too far away from myself
~ Elizabeth Gilbert - Find a “State of Wonder”
This is a simple act of finding and believing that something around you is beautiful. Whether it is a painting, a building, or a just a tree, this exercise forces us to see and appreciate beauty that is all around us, no matter what is happening in our own lives, and will help us lift us spiritually.On the “State of Wonder”, Elizabeth says “it’s our responsibility to find it from time to time”.
- Don’t rush to make decisions
When making decisions about your life, Gilbert advises everyone to just slow down. She says:I think we always rush into decisions because we don’t want to hold up the train of progress but it’s okay to say actually I don’t know and I need some time to figure it out and just ask the world for a little bit more space and a little bit more time and that’s not always easy to do. But you risk injuring yourself as you hurtle along when things are not going right instead of stopping the momentum.
- Be Present
Elizabeth embodies “being present” and it is one of the hardest tasks for me and most people and requires a lot of practice. For some great being present tips, read this simple guide to being present for the Overworked and Overwhelmed.
My takeaway from the evening: only if we can be connected enough with ourselves, can we be more productive, creative, and happy.
Thank you to the Academi of Life & Elizabeth Gilbert for reminding me to reconnect with myself. Join the the Academi of Life on May 11th, for an evening in conversation & music with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.
What do you do to reconnect with yourself?
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