Ten On Tuesday

Ten On Tuesday:  10 Things You Do to Calm Down.

1.  Knit.  Knitting is repetitive.  You need to calm down to retain consistent gauge throughout a project.  I don't think I could get through the day without knitting.  Not that I need all that calming down but the repetitive movement and pretty yarn is what my soul needs everyday.

2.  Deep breathing.  5 in, 5 out. It works to slow the heart rate and focus attention.

3.  Picking up the clutter.  I work on putting away all the paper work and stuff that accumulates around the house.  Then the cleaner surfaces help me stay calm.

4.  I work on a Zentangle drawing. It's very repetitive and relaxing.

5.  Taking a walk...outside or on the treadmill.  Exercise will always help (I'm finding out).

6.  Looking at my phone...reading all the FB stuff and photos on IG help to distract me and calms me down.  Some of the pictures and stories are really lovely.  

7.  In reference to #6...I find if I read some comments that are pretty outrageous, troll quality, then I feel calmer.  Weird, huh?  If I witness people more upset than me, it calms me down.  I think it makes me push the emotion to the side and look at something more logically instead (cuz I don't want to be like them!).

8.  A nice cup of coffee or hot cocoa will help calm me down.

9.  Organization calms me down.  Looking at something organized or actually organizing something really helps.  Something simple like organizing my knitting bag or my knitting "nest" in the house works wonders.

10.  Looking at water.  I love to look at water, especially when I'm in need of calming down.  When we lived in Florida we had a pool, and even looking at a swimming pool had a calming effect on me.