4 Tips to Becoming an Emotionally Healthy Person (Tip #4: Be Portable and Adaptable)

Hey guys, it’s your girl Keys, checking in with you.

If you’ve been following along, I’ve been giving a few essential tips to getting in emotionally healthy shape. The first one that we talked about was increasing movement, whether it's yoga, gardening—whatever activity you enjoy that's physical. This helps to increase dopamine and your endorphins. It just makes you feel better, all around!

The second one we talked about was getting a good probiotic so that your gut health is where it needs to be with the serotonin—because we know that a huge percentage of that serotonin is in your gut.

For the third one, we discussed CBD, the different forms, and where they're available. Hopefully you’ll be able to find something that is compatible with your system that works, but leave a comment below if you need any help!

Now, the tip that I want to give you today is one that is not an actual physical thing that you can do, but more of a mental exercise. Be portable and adaptable. In other words, be okay with change. This essential tip is going to keep you in tip-top emotional shape. That means understanding that everything in life is temporary, and that the only thing permanent in life is change.

So, if we are portable and adaptable—meaning that we can adapt—we can understand that things are going to change and circumstances are going to change. It's not always going to be bad. It's not always going to be good. We have to learn how to lean into those feelings and lean into those emotions, right?

When I was teaching a workshop this weekend, I was talking to the parents about a brief exercise that they could do with their children. Basically, what I want you to do is go to your freezer, grab an ice cube, and put it in your hand. As you hold on to the ice cube with your hand open (not gripping it), you’ll notice the ice cube is going to take a lot longer to melt. But the minute you squeeze the ice cube, it starts to put pressure on it, which will make it melt faster.

Envision that ice cube as your anxiety, and your hand as you leaning into your anxiety. So, every single time something is making you super anxious, lean into it and squeeze into that emotion.

When you do that, it's going to be uncomfortable at first. The ice always makes your hand feel super cold, but it starts to melt because you're leaning into it, you're squeezing it.

What I have found in my life is with every anxious moment, every single time I've tried to avoid the anxiety and I've tried to hold back the tears and not cry, the anxiety gets worse. The more you try to ignore it, the more anxious you become.

So, leaning in means getting it over with. You know that it's going to be there. You know what's happening. So, lean into it, squeeze into it. Feel the feels. Lean into that change. Lean into that discomfort. Be portable, be adaptable, and I promise you the anxiety will melt away. Just like the ice cube melts away eventually.

It might stick around for longer than you want it to, but ultimately, it's going to melt. Why?

Because nothing in life is permanent but change.