Make a Plan to Get Unstuck

Mental GPS with Dr. Jana EP 4

 Feel frozen by life's chaos? In this episode Dr. Jana breaks down how to escape overwhelm by starting small and making a manageable plan. Learn how prioritizing basic needs can completely shift your mood and mindset. She dives into the importance of physical health and sleep explaining how these foundation shifts give you the mental clarity needed to navigate tough days. Start your journey toward a happier life today by taking just one intentional step forward. 

Key Takeaways

• Take action with small manageable steps rather than overhauling your entire life all at once. 
• Prioritize essential physical needs like sleep health and hydration to drastically improve your mood and mental clarity. 
• Cultivate a supportive lifestyle by practicing gratitude making time for genuine fun and keeping communication positive

Transcript

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Good day. This is Dr. Jana Price Sharps from drjana.com. Today we are going to talk about making a plan. We talked about the importance of taking action. And I think what I've seen over the many years that I've been working with people is they freeze. They get really overwhelmed with life, and lots of things are happening, and they just freeze. And so they're not moving forward, they don't know how to move forward, and they just kind of sit there and are overwhelmed. And so this podcast is about how do you begin moving forward. A lot of times people think when they're move when they need blah blah blah blah. And that's a terrible way of doing it because then that overwhelms people even more. So my suggestion is you start small unless you're in a dangerous situation. Then you need to reach out for help and get out of there. And I hope that anybody listening to this that is in a dangerous situation, you link up with community services and you get out of that dangerous situation. Because you have the right to live in an environment where people treat you with respect and you're safe, you're emotionally safe, you're physically safe. So if you're not, reach out to your local shelters and get some support and some guidance on how to remove yourself from those situations. That said, assuming that you are in a safe place but overwhelmed, then think about one thing you can do this week that will get you unstuck just a little bit. So I'm going to give you a bunch of examples of things that you can do. Maybe you just hate your job and you go to work every day resenting the job, you're mad at your coworkers, you hate your boss, whatever that is. What can you do? Well, there's a number of things you can do. The first thing is I want you to think about are there any good things at your job? Because sometimes people get depressed, and then all they can do is see negative. And so they're like, I hate this, I hate that, I hate this. And maybe it's the job, but maybe it's not the job. And so you really have to think about how much is your mood, how much is your living arrangement, how much is your health. And if all of that factors in, maybe for the moment you focus on some of that. Health is so important. And so if your health isn't good, are there things that you can do to make yourself healthier? And that will be a different podcast. But I will say I want you to think about if your body could talk to you, would it appreciate how you work with it? If the answer is no, there's probably some stuff that you can do. And in fact, I'm sure there's stuff that all of us can do. But I want you to think a little bit about that because it's amazing when people start to get healthier, they feel better, their mood is better, and they navigate through problems easier. So health is a big one. Secondly, are you getting any sleep? Oh, Americans, we tend to think that sleep is negotiable, right? If if I get extra sleep tomorrow night, I'm fine not to get much sleep tonight. And it really is okay if I get five hours sleep because I can do that. And yeah, you probably can. The problem is it wears your system down. And, you know, I was one of those people until I had an amazing trainer friend say, Jana, you know, sleep really isn't optional. And I the first time he told me this, this is many years ago now. I said, huh? And he said, no, sleep really isn't optional. You really, you really have to sleep. And I said, huh. I never really had thought about it that way, but I really did grow up thinking sleep was optional. And so he got me on a fairly good sleeping pattern. And it was amazing how much better my health got, how much better the clarity of my thinking got, my mood got exponentially better, and I just felt more hope because I had this energy. And so I think a lot of people are running around and they're it's called titrating your arousal level. So they drink energy drinks, they drink coffee, they drink things with caffeine in them, they do pre-workout with caffeine in it, and then they're shocked that they can't sleep. And so then they take stuff to get themselves to sleep. Sometimes they drink, sometimes they take nighttime stuff over the counter that will knock them out, and then they wake up feeling groggy again. And so round and around and around it goes. So if you're one of those people, maybe you start with your sleep. And we're gonna have numerous podcasts on sleep, but that is one of the things you might want to start on because there's a number of things that you can do to get better sleep. Maybe your relationship is on the rocks, and that is affecting your view of everything. So maybe instead of making major life changes, you start adding in a little bit of positivity into the relationship. Maybe you start doing a date night. Maybe you really start working on how you're communicating things to your significant other. Are you snarky or are you nice? I've been married a very long time. People ask me all the time, how is he still your best friend? I'm like, because he's nice to me. And most of the time I'm nice to him, and when I'm not, when I'm not, I feel really bad and I apologize because he's my best friend. So if you want a really good relationship, be nice. Take the snarkiness out and take the sarcasm out, and the talking down to take that out. And it's amazing how much nicer people get when you're nice to them. So you might start there. Maybe you are not doing anything for fun. When was the last time you did something for fun? Not working out. That doesn't count. People always tell me, well, I worked out, Jana. That's great. But working out is something you do for your body. You may enjoy that process, but it's not the same as, I don't know, going to the movies, taking a cruise, going hiking for fun, not to see where your heart rate is. You know, just allowing your mind to relax, allowing your body to relax. When was the last time you did that? When's the last time you went out with your significant other, your friends, and did something that was really fun and you laughed and you enjoyed each other's company? So often I find people just work. They just work and then they work more and then they work more, and they wonder why they feel so burned out and so tired and so just almost dull. You know, when they're trying to think about things, they just feel shut down. So maybe you had some fun in your life. How about your spiritual life? How's that going? Maybe you don't have one, and that's okay if you don't want one. But most people have a spiritual component. And when I say spiritual, I'm not talking about religion, although that can certainly be there for many people. It may not be there for you, and that's okay. But what about your spiritual side? Are you feeding that side of yourself? What are you doing to feed that side of yourself? And do you have time to just be still? Do you have a few moments that you're taking every day just to think about life? To take that deep sigh, to think about, you know what, I'm really grateful for this in my life. I'm really grateful that I get to do this in my life. I'm grateful for this person in my life. Gratitude is an amazing thing. It is very healing for people. And what do you do when you need to relax? What do you do? How do you unwind? How do you get your system cooled down from a very chaotic day where you're running here, doing this, doing that? How do you get yourself back to center? So these are just some things that people might want to start with. You can start small. Maybe it's just a bedtime routine that you start doing. Maybe it is adding in a motivational podcast every day. Maybe you get up in the morning and you do some stretching and then you listen to a motivational podcast. Maybe you drink more water. A lot of people don't drink any water. People say, well, does soda count? No, not so much. I mean, it has water in it, but it also has other properties. So according to all the dietitians and coaches I've worked with and trainers, they all say that you just need water, water. And so what do you do to get the water in your life? Maybe you start there. Maybe you start adding in a few salads here and there. I don't know. But take a step. Make a plan. It doesn't have to be a complicated plan. But if there's forward movement, there's going to be much more energy and you're going to feel better. And you're going to be able to take even more forward movement once you start this process. But kind of outline some things that you feel like you need to work on and then pick one. And then two, three weeks, check in with yourself and say, hmm, I'm doing pretty good on that one. Okay, I'm ready to take on the next one. And then I'm ready to take on the next one. And you just start building your life into what you want it to be. What do you want your focus to be? What does happiness look like for you? What does a great day look like for you? Okay. Start there and work your way backwards, meaning, how do you get there? What needs to be put into place so you have that moment that you wake up and life is good? Make a plan. Take action because you have the right to have a happy day. You have a right to have a good life. I hope you have a wonderful week. Take care. This is Dr. Jana from drjana.com.