5 Ways to Shake It Off

As I was driving home from Maryland this past weekend my fave song played a few times on the radio Shake It Off by Taylor Swift. I love this song! When I first heard it back in August I immediately felt uplifted and for lack of a better word... joyous :).

There are always going to be moments in our lives when we really need to shake something off. Life can throw us unexpected curve balls, unpleasant people and crappy circumstances from time to time. Our ability to thrive in these moments and still remain positive can certainly be tested.

Taking the high road has a profound impact on our own health and well-being because when we do this, we put the stop on stress and it’s many negative effects.

When you do find yourself in a difficult situation, keep my tips in mind for 5 ways to shake it off:

So your co-worker said something nasty behind your back or your ex-BF is spreading nasty rumours about you? You have two options in this instance, let it ruin your day and engage that person with negativity (which may be exactly what they want -- otherwise known as attention) or as the song goes “haters gonna hate”… so, “shake it off”!

Take the high road, realize that people who spend their time gossiping and spreading lies about you probably have their own demons to deal with. What I mean by this is that people who project negativity and gossip are usually unhappy with something about themselves. Here’s what you do, silently send them love! Yes, I’m serious. The universe is always paying attention. Take the high road and send love.

The last 7 weeks has certainly tested my own resilience to stress because it’s been an incredibly busy time. I’ve been doing a LOT of speaking. I realize that I was put on this earth to inspire people to live happy and healthy lives, so I will continue to do this. This is why it’s essential for me to drink beverages that don’t zap me of energy and vitality (like coffee and pop do).

One of the things that keeps me balanced is drinking tea. The mindful act of preparing a herbal tea to calm my body and relax my nervous system is an act of love for myself. I highly recommend it. Look for teas made with chamomile and/or passionflower as they are research proven to reduce anxiety and calm the central nervous system.

Many times we experience stress because of our own reaction to a situation or life event, which (NEWS FLASH) we are ultimately in control of – our reaction!

Sometimes changing our perspective is enough to relieve the stress. For example, being stuck in traffic or a very long grocery lineup when you need to be somewhere can be a “disaster” and a “time waster” or it could be an opportunity for contemplation and solitude.

Much suffering we experience is self-inflicted by wishing the moment to be different than it is. You likely know all about “grass is greener” syndrome. Oh how I spent many years with this syndrome! It wasn’t that my current circumstances were miserable (far from that). It was my choice to live in a constant state of wishing things to be different than they were.

My past career is a perfect example of this. I spent at least 7 years wishing I was in nutrition but instead I was working in marketing and advertising. It’s not that my job was horrendous because I worked with amazingly brilliant and creative people at a super cool agency, but I was stuck living in this fantasy world because of what my heart truly desired. I don’t have any regrets because change happened right when it was meant to, but what if I practiced more acceptance at that time and moved in a positive direction towards my goals? The difference would have been that I would have likely become a holistic nutritionist even sooner!

If you are not in a position to follow your dreams (just yet), practice acceptance and look for the beauty in where you’re at otherwise you’ll miss all the wonderful things happening in the moment.

You’ve had a rough day at school or at the office and you might feel like the world is currently working against you. First of all, put things into perspective because it’s not all about you! I say that with love ;)

The worst thing you can do when you’ve had a rough day is bring it home with you and let it drive you to polish off a pint of ice cream or have a fight with someone you adore.

Instead, send love, have a comforting cup of tea, reframe the situation, practice acceptance and if all else fails put on your favourite song and “shake it off”!

Feel free to share the image below or print it off as a reminder!

What's your favourite tune to shake it off?