So Candy and I have very similar personalities. We think too much, we over-analyze, we get worked up... Well, I do. Candy is the success story that I aim to be. I currently have panic attacks that are greatly affecting my life. Candy is on the other side. She suffered from WICKED panic attacks years ago and was able to find her way out of them. We hope that by creating this blog and extras that we can help ourselves and others stop thinking too much and just enjoy the experience.
Candy and I came up with this idea over dinner one night. We were both stressed for different reasons and were over-analyzing our lives. We started talking and brainstorming ideas to get ourselves out of our heads and back into just enjoying life. My dad is a self-help connoisseur and is constantly giving me advice and books to read to help me get over this anxiety/panic issue. One of his best pieces of advice is that when you're spiraling into yourself and driving yourself batty, focus your attention outward. Focus on something outside of yourself and try to help others. Doing things for others puts your life back in perspective and makes you feel better. So that's our idea. We aim to focus our attention outside of ourselves.
We're coming at this from several angles. We want to provide small ideas on how to be grateful for tiny things in our lives. I really love Dad's latest advice to "find the tiniest step and take it." Apparently it's not important (or even helpful, I've found) to go whole-hog and try to fix it all in one giant leap. It asks too much of you, and you burn out at the first hint of not being able to do it all. So each day, I'm trying to find one teeny tiny thing to that makes me grateful for my life.
We're also applying this logic to focusing outward. Starting this blog and bouncing ideas off Candy has been amazing. I'm for once holding myself back from trying to do it all in one gulp. I'm forcing myself to only do 15 minutes of "work" on our goals each day. It's nearly stress-free to do it this way because it's hard to be intimidated by working 15 mins a day. And yet, I'm still doing good, and I'm still focusing outward for a tiny portion of my day. I feel a sense of relief being able to do this in teeny amounts and not burn myself out or feel like a failure. It's great!
We would like to invite you to join us. We know that not everyone has anxiety, but we're willing to bet that a LOT of us get caught over-thinking situations. We think a lot of people want to do tiny bits of good in this world or heck, even just have some fun getting outside of themselves for a moment. Come join us just for the fun of it, whether you're in Austin or not. We're going to find little things that you can do in your own area, too. We'll even let you know what we thought of our excursion so you can try it later if you want. We're also going to try to keep it on the cheap. Some activities may be pricier, but we want to stay under $10 as much as possible. See, you have no excuse! It'll be cheap, it'll be once a week, and it'll be fun. Shoot, you may even help someone else along the way.
So... Welcome to our journey.
Disclaimer: We do not pretend to be therapists. Our ideas, advice, and events will not substitute for a sound therapeutic program. Candy and I have both pursued therapy to great avail. We encourage you to get any form of help that you need.
