Mental health - Mind | Spirit

How To Stop Worrying And Trust The Universe: 9 Essential Tips

3rd July 202413th July 2024 Katelyn

Trusting the universe brings together spirituality, personal development, and emotional well-being. At its essence, trusting the universe means having faith that there is a greater plan at work in your life, even if you can’t see or understand it. It involves letting go of the need to control every aspect of your life and instead, embracing the flow of events with an open heart and mind. Fear and worry often stop us from trusting the universe. Pressures of life; responsibilities, challenges and uncertainty of the future can cause stress and worry. The ability to let go of these concerns and trust the universe provides a profound sense of peace, calm and liberation.

This blog will explore 9 effective tips for you to learn how to stop worrying and trust the universe. Here’s how you can start this transformative journey:

The Importance of Trusting the Universe
Trusting Yourself as Part of Trusting the Universe
9 Essential Tips to Learn How to Stop Worrying and Trust The Universe
Embracing Trust: A Personal Journey
Final Thoughts
Resources

The Importance of Trusting the Universe

‘Trust the Universe’ sounds like a spiritual cliché, but it can be a powerful mindset and a way of finding peace and calming worry. I used to think this was an annoying saying, but now that I have learned to understand what this phrase means, I have found comfort in it. Now, when things feel out of my control, I use this phrase to calm my worries and to hold hope that things are happening for me, not to me.

This kind of trust doesn’t mean that we just have to accept everything that comes our way. It doesn’t mean taking a passive approach to life; in fact, quite the opposite. It means that we work towards making things happen and reaching our goals, but when things don’t go right or there are stressful situations outside of our control, we can have faith, take it as a lesson, and maintain calm minds while feeling supported and guided. Trusting that there is a bigger picture to our lives and meaning for everything that happens can help build resilience and get you through the hard times.

Trusting Yourself as Part of Trusting the Universe

It can also help to learn to trust your talents, abilities, and strengths. I have learned to trust that I have been given the gifts I’ve been given for a reason. That my abilities and strengths are all for a bigger purpose. For example, I have a strong sense of empathy and can feel other people’s pain and distress. At times I have struggled with this; it can be draining and difficult, but it’s also the gift that allows me to help people. It’s the gift that made me become a social worker, and work as a counsellor and coach.

Trusting the universe can be difficult at first but is a very powerful way to improve our well-being and live our true purpose.

9 Essential Tips to Learn How to Stop Worrying and Trust The Universe

1. Acknowledge and Understand Your Fears

This is an important first step on how to stop worrying and trust the universe. If we don’t take time to understand what we are afraid of or try to suppress or deny our fears we are more likely to amplify them. A lot of the time when we stop to reflect on our fears they are typically projections of a future that may never happen. Give yourself some time to reflect on these, meditate on them, and write them down. By understanding and acknowledging these fears, where they come from and the impact they are having, we take their power away and demystify them. Doing this can make it easier to release the fear and trust the universe’s guidance.

2. Cultivate a Meditation Practice

Meditation is a powerful tool for calming your mind, centring your thoughts and connecting to your higher self. As I mentioned in the last tip; a lot of the fear we experience is about future events that are yet to happen. Meditation provides a way to focus on the here and now, take time out from the worry, find inner peace and let go of fears and anxieties.

Set aside time each day. Even 5 minutes of focused breathing can make a significant difference. With increased practice, you can experiment with different types of meditations and learn to connect to your higher self and universal messaging to increase trust in your path.

3. Learn to Let Go of Control

Trying to control all aspects of our lives can increase our fear of the unknown. In truth, we can’t control a lot of what happens in our lives. Learning to let go of control and trusting that the universe has a greater plan for you, can help you see the possibilities and opportunities for growth and potential.

To let go of control reflect on situations in your life and seriously ask yourself what areas you have; control, influence or no control. This will help you determine where to put your focus and energy and what aspects to let go of and trust the universe. If you have difficulty with control perhaps consider seeking support to understand and work on your need for control.

4. Embrace a Gratitude Practice

Gratitude is a powerful way to recognize abundance and positivity in our lives which helps to foster a sense of contentment. This practice can transform your mindset and make it easier to trust that the universe is providing for you in meaningful ways.

Try a gratitude journal. Start practising writing down 3 things a day that you are grateful for. Another great way to practice gratitude is to do it with a friend or loved one. Try sharing what you are grateful for with them each day. Also try to remind yourself regularly to be grateful to the universe for having your back and providing the amazing opportunities you have in your life.

Check out more about self-gratitude.

5. Establish a Spiritual Routine

Having a spiritual routine can help to connect to higher energies and reinforce your trust in the universe’s plan. Having a routine of any sort can help to build trust in yourself. By showing yourself you can regularly repeat behaviours that have a positive effect on your life, you prove to yourself that you can be consistent and trust your own word. Adding a spiritual component to this routine can help you trust yourself and the universe.

The spiritual component is up to you entirely. It can be meditation, reading spiritual texts, choosing a crystal to carry with you or using a divination tool such as tarot. Your spiritual routine should be completely individual. It can be anything that makes you feel joy, grounded and connected to the universe.

6. Accept and Embrace Uncertainty

Life is inevitably unpredictable. Therefore, an important part of how to stop worrying and trust the universe is to learn to embrace uncertainty. Accepting uncertainty is an important part of releasing fear and trusting in infinite possibilities. Accepting and embracing uncertainty allows us to flow with life rather than resisting it.

7. Understand That Not Getting What You Want Can Be a Blessing

Sometimes we want things in life that aren’t necessarily for us and the path planned for us. It can be disappointing when we want a particular job, for example, only to be turned down. However, months later we find the job of our dreams or find out that the company went bankrupt. ‘A blessing in disguise’.

Trusting in the universe’s wisdom and timing helps in making these setbacks easier to bare. Reflect on past experiences. Have there been times when not getting what you wanted led to a better outcome? How can you apply this thinking in the future when you face disappointments or setbacks? Try to keep your mind on the bigger picture and remind yourself that there is purpose behind these things.

8. Learn to Look for Synchronicities

I don’t know if you have noticed synchronicities in your life before but I find great comfort in seeing them. Often it’s in numbers, I regularly see repeating numbers 444 or 555 or even patterns like 911 or 411. These don’t only show on the clock but on license plates, game scores, or phone numbers.

Noticing synchronicities or meaningful coincidences, as Jung called them¹, is a way of the universe communicating with you. It can be a message to reinforce your thought or belief or it could be guidance or encouragement with a decision. Learning to see and understand these messages can help to develop trust in the universe’s path. Try keeping a journal to note these synchronicities and reflect on the meaning. You can look up others’ meanings or decide on a meaning for yourself. Be aware of your thoughts and feelings at the time of seeing the synchronicity as it may just be encouragement or a warning.

9. Develop Your Intuition

Lastly, developing your intuition is an important way to learn to trust in the universe. Having a strong sense of your intuition strengthens your inner guidance system, trust your instincts and listen to the universe’s subtle messages. This is another great way to trust yourself as well as the universe in making decisions as it connects you with your higher self. As your intuition develops you will learn to trust your instincts and start to make decisions for your highest self and your greatest good.

Practice quieting your mind and tuning into your inner wisdom. Try to listen to your gut, especially when making decisions. Listen for the ‘hell yes’ and the ‘hell no’ in your body. Another great way to practice is to try to predict objects, for example, use cards; draw one from the deck but before looking at it leave it face down and try to guess which it is. Focus on it, try to visualise it and trust what comes to mind or what you feel.

How to Stop Worrying and Trust the Universe: A Personal Journey

Trusting the universe is not about adopting a specific set of beliefs or rituals but about finding what resonates with you personally. It’s about developing a relationship with the universe that feels authentic and meaningful. For some, this might involve daily meditation and journaling; for others, it could be spending time in nature or engaging in creative activities. The key is to find practices that help you feel connected and supported.

Final Thoughts

Whilst trusting the universe might sound like a cliched way to manage stress. However, it can be a beneficial way to build resilience, feel a sense of peace in difficult times and minimise fear and worry. It needs to be a practice that feels right to you, so use all the tips or the ones that work for you, to develop the trust you need.

If you found these tips helpful and you would like to continue your journey of spirituality and self-discovery; subscribe to my mailing list. Also, check out my new Etsy store. Its a new store but I will be adding more exciting new products. Check out my set of 100 positive thinking affirmation cards.

Resources

¹Jung, C. G. (1952). “Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle.” In Collected Works vol. 8. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Koenig, H. G., McCullough, M. E., & Larson, D. B. (2001). The Role of Spirituality in Coping with Stress. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy

Synchronicity: Enhance Well-Being via Meaningful Coincidences | Psychology Today

What It Means To Trust The Universe + Why You Should | mindbodygreen

Self-Gratitude: Elevate Your Mind, Spirit and Life

28th February 202428th February 2024 Katelyn

Hello Beautiful Souls, I want to introduce you to the beautiful and healing practice of self-gratitude. This is an important practice that has many holistic benefits that help you to be your best self.

It’s like giving yourself a giant, warm hug. It’s celebrating everything that makes you unique, worthy and special.

In this article, we will look at what self-gratitude is and why it’s important, as well as, barriers that can create resistance. We will look at the best ways to practice this beautiful and healing ritual.

Table of Contents:
– What is Self-Gratitude?
– Barriers and Challenges to Self-Gratitude
– How Does Self-Gratitude Improve Our Mind, Spirit and Life?
– Mind
– Spirit
– Life
– Ways to Practice Self-Gratitude
– Final Thoughts

What is Self-Gratitude?

Self-gratitude is the practice of expressing appreciation for and celebrating parts of yourself. It helps you see and appreciate all of the great things about yourself. Your personality, abilities, talents, knowledge, and physical attributes.

Have you ever caught yourself being critical about a mistake? or beating yourself up for something you have forgotten?

I bet the way you spoke to yourself is harsher then you would ever speak to your family or friends. Self-gratitude will shift your negative self-talk to be more positive and kinder.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the practice of gratitude by now and likely all its benefits. But self-gratitude is all the benefits of gratitude but directed back to yourself.

Barriers and Challenges to Self-Gratitude

Unfortunately, practices like self-gratitude do not come naturally to us. This can be for several reasons. Some of the most common reasons include:

Perfectionism and Negative Self-Talk – Having harsh criticism and intolerance of personal mistakes can cause us to put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. This way of thinking can overshadow our achievements and best qualities.

Internalising Societal Pressures leading to guilt and shame – I’m sure we all have felt pressure before around the ways we ‘should’ act or milestones we ‘should’ achieve. But life doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes we don’t get married, have children, or have the perfect career within the ‘appropriate’ timeframes…or at all. Internalising these pressures can lead to negative feelings of guilt and shame stopping us from truly appreciating the amazing person we are.

Fear of Selfishness – Often we get told that to provide ourselves care and love is to be selfish or self-centred. It’s not! This is actually the best thing you can do, not only for yourself but for your family, friends and society as a whole. Because if you love yourself you are more likely to be a better person and be better to others.

How Does Self-Gratitude Improve Our Mind, Spirit and Life?

Self-Gratitude Impacts on the Mind

Improves Mental Health – Ongoing practice of self-gratitude can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress. Shifting attention from negative thought patterns to focus on the positive aspects of yourself and your life can help to shift to a more optimistic outlook.

Improves Self-Acceptance and Self-Love – Self-gratitude helps you, not only, accept yourself for who you are but also love all aspects of yourself. This increases your confidence self-worth and overall happiness.

Fosters a Growth Mindset – Self-gratitude nurtures a growth mindset by acknowledging personal progress and learning from experiences. This outlook embraces challenges, values effort, and views failures as opportunities to learn, leading to personal and professional development.

Self-Gratitude Impacts on the Spirit

Deepens Self-Connection – Self-gratitude encourages introspection and a deeper connection with your inner self. This introspective practice can lead to a more profound understanding of your values, desires, and purpose, aligning actions with true self-identity.

Cultivates Inner Peace: By appreciating your journey and embracing the present moment, self-gratitude fosters a sense of contentment and inner peace. It reduces the constant striving for external validation and allows for a more grounded and centred spirit.

Enhances Spiritual Growth – For many, gratitude is a spiritual practice. It opens the heart chakra, increases empathy, and connects them to something greater than themselves, whether that’s a community, nature, or a higher power. It can be a pathway to experiencing transcendence and interconnectedness.

Self-Gratitude Impacts on the Life

Improves Relationships With Yourself and Others – Learning to love the true you can improve your relationship with yourself. As your self-acceptance and love improve, you are more inclined to treat your body with respect and compassion. This leads to healthier choices.

Your improved sense of self will likely rub off on others, improving positive relationships. But, an improved sense of self can also highlight where some people may be holding you back. With your increased love and respect for yourself, you will have an increased capacity to say no and cement those boundaries.

Builds Resilience to Manage Life’s Stressors – Acknowledging your strengths and achievements builds psychological resilience, enabling better coping with stress and adversity. It cultivates a mindset that views challenges as opportunities for growth rather than insurmountable obstacles, setting you up to manage the stressors that come your way.

Increases Life Satisfaction – Practicing self-gratitude shifts the focus from what’s missing to what’s abundant in your life, promoting a sense of satisfaction and joy. It encourages a celebration of the present and an appreciation for the unique path you are on, regardless of societal standards or expectations.

Ways to Practice Self-Gratitude?

Embrace self-care

Take care of yourself! Focus on self-care activities that reflect self-gratitude, such as a relaxing bath, a favourite hobby, or a treat that makes you feel valued and cared for. You deserve it!

Redefine Success on your own terms

Put societal pressures and expectations aside and set your own goals. You determine what success is for you, not anyone else.

If there are days when getting up and showering is a success, then good on you for doing it and appreciate yourself. If getting married and having kids isn’t your life goal and you’d rather travel the world then that is your success story.

Affirmations and Positive Self-Talk

Being aware of your self-talk and taking directed action to improve this is one of the best ways to practice self-gratitude.

Repeat affirmations while you’re brushing your teeth, or getting ready for work.

Every time you catch yourself thinking something negative counter it with 2 positives.

Gratitude Journaling

Start a practice of writing one thing you love and appreciate about yourself every day. Try it for a month or even for a year. I challenge you to do it and not feel better about yourself.

My favourite part about this one is, by writing down the daily gratitudes, you can re-read these any time you need a pick me up.

See my other article on how to start journaling for tips.

Mel Robbin’s High Five Habit

Love Mel Robbins and her awesome evidence-backed self-help techniques. Mel has a book called The High Five Habit in which she recommends high-fiving yourself in the mirror every day giving yourself a boost of positive affirmation.

Therapy or Coaching

Consider working with a Coach, Counsellor or Psychologist to work through what might be holding you back from truly loving yourself.

Please feel free to book a 15 minute discovery call with me to see if I am the right fit to help you out! I’d love to work with you!

Final Thoughts

Self-gratitude is more than self-care; it’s a transformative practice that reshapes how we view ourselves and our lives. It turns our unique paths into sources of strength and joy. By adopting simple acts of self-gratitude, we can foster a deeper connection with ourselves and lead a more fulfilling life.

Call to Action: Begin with one small act of self-gratitude today. Notice the positive changes and share your story with us. Need support? Book a discovery call with me today!

Book Now

Resources

High 5 Habit – Unlock the Power of Habit and Achieve Your Goals with Mel Robbins

What Is Self-Gratitude and How Can You Practice It? | Cake Blog (joincake.com)

How To Start Journaling to Discover Your Best Self

17th January 202417th July 2024 Katelyn

Including 16 Journal Prompts to Start Your Journaling Journey!

Hello Beautiful Souls!

Are you wondering how to start journaling and embark on a transformative journey? Through my time working as a Counsellor and in my own spiritual growth journey, I’ve seen first-hand how journaling can open doors to our deepest selves. I’m excited to help you discover the same for yourself. Let’s explore how this simple practice can unlock your path to personal growth and self-awareness.

The Power of Journaling in Self-Discovery

Journaling is more than just writing down your thoughts. It’s an intimate process that helps peel back the layers of your inner self. It’s your personal space to explore emotions, dreams, and aspirations. It can provide clarity on current issues, provide healing from traumas in your past or provide closure in times of grief or anger. Imagine having a conversation with your deepest self – that’s what journaling can be.

As the number of studies increased, it became clear that writing was a far more powerful tool for healing than anyone had ever imagined.
— James W. Pennebaker

6 Major Benefits of Journaling Practice

1. Healthy Outlet For Suppressed Emotion

There are many reasons we supress our emotions, from not feeling safe, to childhood programming that you’re not supposed to or not wanting to be a burden on someone. Not expressing our emotions can cause significant emotional consequences. Often it can lead to outbursts of anger or tears that can hurt others or happen at really inappropriate times. Journaling creates a safe, judgement free zone to express these emotions. Therefore, reducing the risks of damaging relationships, minimising mood swings and irritability.

2. Helps You Achieve Your Goals

Ever felt stuck in a rut or bored of life? Ever had a goal in mind but not sure how to achieve it? Often its a lack of clarity that can cause these feelings. Journaling allows you to lay out all the areas of your goal and break it down into steps you can take and explore the barriers that may be hiding below the surface.

3. Improves Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is ‘the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you’ (Mental Health America). One of the key elements of Emotional Intelligence is Self-Awareness. Journaling helps us to increase our self-awareness by helping to break down our thoughts, feelings and behaviours and giving us an understanding of our automatic reactions and thoughts that often overlook.

4. Positive Impact on Physical Health

Did you know that journaling can be a secret weapon for your physical health? It’s true! When we write down our thoughts and feelings, it’s not just an emotional release; it can actually lead to physical benefits. This practice helps reduce stress, which means less stress hormone cortisol. More cortisol over a long periods of time can equal poor physical health.

From lowering blood pressure to improving immune function, journaling is like a multi-vitamin for your overall well-being. So next time stress is getting on top of you, try reaching for your journal!

5. Improves Your Outlook And Mindset.

Have you ever sat down with your best friend and talked abut life or your stresses, then noticed after you feel a lot more positive and optimistic. Think of your Journal as your new best friend. Transforming your thoughts from a jumble of worries into written words can be incredibly powerful. It’s like decluttering your mind! This simple act of self-expression helps you gain perspective, focus on the positives, and cultivate a more optimistic outlook on life.

6. Helps to process Trauma or Crisis Situations.

I’m sure we have all had times of crisis or intense stress. Journaling can provide a safe and non-judgemental place to process your complex emotions and experiences. It provides a private space to unpack your thoughts and feelings, allowing you to understand and heal at your own pace. Remember, your journal doesn’t judge; it listens. That’s what makes it a powerful tool in healing and reclaiming your strength.

How to Start Journaling Tips

Setting Up Your Journaling Practice Choosing the right method of journaling is your first step. Pick something that feels inviting and special to you. I personally love the feeling of pen to paper. But I know that doesn’t resonate or work for everyone! Most important thing I want you to take away from reading this article is the understanding that journaling can be unique to you! Don’t let the format or process seem too big and stop you from getting started. You can type it into a word document, use an app on your phone or use voice recorder or a combination. It has to work for you and feel like something you will keep coming back to.

Find a comfortable spot where you can write freely and without interruptions (even if that means in the car if home is too busy). Make it that you are in your favourite space in your house, with things you love. For me it’s in my favourite chair with my cushion and blanket, my singing bowl, salt lamp and crystals if I feel drawn to particular ones for that day or for the topic I’m writing on. Sometimes I also use ceremonial cacao to help to allow the stress of the day to melt away go deeper and open myself up to spiritual messages.

Consistency is crucial – even a few minutes each day can spark significant changes. This can be a few minutes of what’s called ‘stream of consciousness’ writing or brain dumping as I like to call it. This is where you write whatever comes to mind, it doesn’t even need to make sense. Or its prompted questions that help guide you through particular issues or ideas (see the prompts below to get you started).

How to Make it a Habit

Tips to keep up the habit –

Journal at the same time every day or on the same day every week.
Set a reminder alarm
Habit stack but adding journaling to a routine you already do – keep your journal near the coffee maker to remind you in the morning, keep it on the couch so you do it instead of watching TV.
Start with only 10 or 15minutes a day
Plan a selfcare reward after; like a walk, a shower, time relaxing watching TV.
Create a beautiful and soothing routine to make it a pleasant experience.

16 Prompts to get you started

So how do you start journaling if you don’t know what to write? I know this is a common hurdle. Journaling prompts are fantastic tools to get your thoughts flowing.

Here are 16 prompts designed to start you on your journaling journey in self-discovery and introspection. Just start by picking one and go from there:

What am I most grateful for today?
Which values are most important to me, and how am I honouring them?
What are the biggest lessons I’ve learned this year?
When did I feel truly happy in the last week?
What fears are holding me back from my dreams?
How do I define success, and am I on the path toward it?
What are my unique strengths, and how can I use them more?
What advice would I give to my younger self?
What does my ideal day look like?
How do I practice self-care, and how can I improve it?
What am I afraid of, and why?
Which relationships in my life are most significant, and why?
What is my personal definition of happiness?
Where do I see myself in five years?
What am I passionate about, and how do I express it?
What obstacles have I overcome, and what have they taught me?

If you like these and want more I am currently releasing daily journal prompt pins on Pinterest you can save and come back to when you are ready. These prompts cover a range of topics within Mind Spirit Life areas of Psychology, Spirituality and Lifestyles.

Integrating Journaling with Other Self-Improvement Practices

Journaling beautifully complements other self-improvement and self-care activities. Whether it’s:

Reflecting post-meditation
Writing after a workout or yoga
Dream journaling if you’re having nightmares
Gratitude journaling when you need a pick me up after a bad day
Worry journaling at the end of the day to clean your mind before sleep

Integrating journaling into your routine can enhance your overall journey of growth.

“Journaling is a tool to put our experiences, thoughts, beliefs, and desires into language, and in doing so it helps us understand and grow and make sense of them,”
– Joshua Smyth (Professor of biobehavioural health and medicine – Penn State University).

Final Thoughts on How to Start Journaling

Starting a journaling practice is like opening a door to self-awareness and personal transformation. Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to journal – it’s all about what resonates with you. So, don’t overthink it, pick up that pen or chosen medium, and let your inner voice flow.

Need More

I’m excited to hear about your journaling journey! Have you had any eye-opening moments? Still feeling stuck drop, a comment on other areas you’d like to see covered or ask me any questions and I’ll get back to you. Share your stories, insights or questions in the comments or find me on Instagram @mindspiritlifecoach. And for more tips on personal growth and self-discovery, stay tuned to Mind Spirit Life.

Happy journaling!

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Resources: