For those of you too young to remember the 70s, Weebles were egg shaped people, with a weight in the bottom. You could push them right over, and they would wobble about and then regain their upright position. The catchy little song went, ‘Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down.’ (We were very easily pleased in the 70s)
We all need to be more weeble.
If anyone tells you that they are so ‘sorted’ that they never wobble, don’t believe them. The point isn’t to never wobble, the point is to come back to a balanced place as quickly as possible.
With practice, this gets easier and quicker.
How to deal with wobbles
As with most aspects of personal development, it starts with awareness. Simply being aware that you are off balance. How that manifests itself is probably different for everyone. From a bigger picture perspective, you might notice that you’re not sleeping well, or not eating well, or that you don’t have any time for yourself. Or, as you become more conscious of what it feels like where you’re in balance, in the flow, energised, calm, you might start to notice when you’re off balance today, or this morning.
As soon as you notice this sense of wobbling about, pause and try and notice everything you can about it. Don’t give yourself a hard time about anything you notice, no ‘shoulds’, or self -criticism. Just notice really objectively how you are feeling and what is happening. Also don’t attach any story to it, there’s no need to explain why it’s happening. Just notice the symptoms if you like.
Then consider what actions you could take to get back in balance. What makes you feel energized, focused, creative, at peace? Maybe it’s going for a regular walk, or spending time with loved ones (albeit on zoom), or meditating. Make a realistic plan, even if it’s just a couple of small steps, and then put it into action.
Start by doing something positive to bring you back into balance straightaway. Taking a shower is a good one, you can imagine all the stress, or negativity being washed away. Or doing a short burst of exercise, or having a dance, or going for a walk. Or a quick nap- try yoga nidra. 20-25 minutes is optimum. Any more than that and you are likely to go too deeply asleep and not feel refreshed when you wake up.
Longer-term positive impacts
If you can develop the ability to both notice when you are off centre, and then take action to come back into balance, you will be gradually adding to ballast or anchor at the bottom of your weeble-self. And of course, the more ballast you have there, the less you will wobble, and the more easily you will come back to centre. But you won’t ever stop wobbling altogether, that’s just human nature.
Image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/goaliej54/5840952157/