The Grid of Life and Negative Thought Loops
I have written generally about the Grid of Life before. This post is about the Grid of Life in relation to anxiety.
One of the effects of being bombarded by our own negative and unhelpful thoughts from time to time is exhaustion. Thinking about something that causes us to feel stressed or angry or defensive, over and over again, is so tiring.
One of the best ways to break free from one of these negative thought loops and restore our energy is to distract ourselves. We may want to dive into why such thoughts occurred and how we can help them to occur less frequently or intensely in the future, but that’s best done after the fact, when you can muster some perspective, say a few days later.
Thus, we need healthy distractions on hand that we can turn to in the moment we need them – not scrolling, but self-care-related activities, and those that bring us joy.
I know that if my brain is stuck in a negative thought loop, Aiyana will be able to distract me enough to break free from it. If for whatever reason we weren’t together, I know that doing a Yoga with Adriene video, reading, doing some weeding, or looking up plants using the RHS’s Plant Finder would also help me to put some distance between myself and my negative thoughts.
The key is to come up with your own list when you’re feeling calm and clear-headed, so that minimal effort is required to apply it when you’re feeling overwhelmed and frazzled.
As my writerly master Gretchen Rubin says:
“To a truly remarkable extent, we’re more likely to do something if it’s convenient, and less likely if it’s not. The amount of effort, time, or decision-making required by an action has a huge influence on our habits. Make it easy to do right and hard to go wrong.”