What are you letting the bridge down for?
During an inspiring and occasionally musical keynote, Mike Veny posed this question with straightforward, actionable ways to maintain inner peace in an uncertain world.
Mike acknowledges the lack of control we experience in all facets of life and how it can overwhelm us. Mike delved into his upbringing, history with mental health and professional experience working with organizations to provide actionable ways to maintain inner peace.
Here are a couple of other insights we loved from his keynote:
When feeling overwhelmed, ask yourself, what do I need now?
Mike pointed out that when feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or even depressed – we should center ourselves and focus on things we can act on. For example, taking a moment and asking ourselves, “What do I need right now?”
For example, if someone is overwhelmed with various life pressures, but after asking ourselves this, we may realize we’re hungry or need to do one specific thing at a given moment. It can help narrow our focus, give us more control and deal with a prescient issue we are overlooking.
Be more mindful about what we invite into our routines
A lot is happening outside our control, but we can still take control of our mental health. As Mike outlined with his motte metaphor, we are castles – and it matters when we lower the drawbridge.
For example, we can invite more daily self-care (Mike even encourages doubling down on this) into our lives or allow things into our lives (castle) that hinder the progress we want to make that day.