What do you need? I’ve a card on my wall with the saying
‘It’s not the mountains ahead that wear you down, it’s the grain of sand in your shoe’
How true is that?
Like so many people I can get a bit ‘Heath Robinson’ about things, using anything and everything, except the correct tool for the job.
I had been using various boxes to rest my feet on under my desk, they were too solid, too high and, basically, all too ‘wrong’ in some way.
Eventually the stiffness I experienced after long periods sitting with my knees at this angle was too painful and I began to avoid sitting at my desk and working.
This dislike of sitting at my desk was preventing me from doing all the things I wanted to do, as the frustration about not doing things grew, I became scared that I couldn’t do things, distracting myself with other tasks that I decided were much more important, like laundry and gardening, soon apathy took a seat at the table and then discontentment joined the party, soon I was feeling pretty useless and fairly low.
I wasn’t getting any satisfaction because I wasn’t doing anything I wanted to do, I wasn’t
sending the emails that I wanted to send
writing the courses I had been excited to write
sharing the insights and information I longed to share
experiencing the usual joy of achievement and progress.
So I resolved to sort it out.
Through my work I have learned to ‘listen’ to bodies, to witness the subtle messages that are either ignored or misunderstood. I could have taken pain killers to reduce the stiffness in my knees, but I knew that wasn’t the issue.
Unfortunately I had disappeared so far down the emotional rabbit hole that my emotional state had become my perceived ‘issue’ and I had completely forgotten about the discomfort I experienced sitting at my desk.
I sat quietly with my ‘self’ and I asked ‘What do you need?’
I feel fortunate that my work empowers me to be curious this way and to allow the answers to come. My ‘self’ knows that I will witness and respect the answers revealed, even if I don’t necessarily ‘like’ them.
The solution came quietly and simply, as a thought, a memory of working in huge well resourced organisations where we were all assessed and supplied with ergonomically designed, fully adjustable foot rests under our desks.
What my body needed was the correct tool for the job.
Today my (maybe I’d better say our) new foot rest arrived and I am stunned at the difference it has made to my sitting position and my demeanour.
I am now excited to sit at my desk and get on with all the computer based things I had been avoiding and really wanted to do.
So often it seems that there is something in our mindset that is blocking us, an attitude or a belief but, when we actually go into it and explore the logistics of something the solution is much simpler that we first imagined.
Clearly my body knows what it needs, and pTerry fully approves of the new piece of office kit too, which is always a bonus.
Next time you find yourself down an emotional rabbit hole, take a moment to stop and ask yourself, ‘what do I need?’ The answer may surprise you, if you let it.
Claire Cutler-Casey is a professional Kinesiology Practitioner and Touch For Health instructor as well as delivering a variety of business and well-being workshops designed to help you navigate the process of change.
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