My anxiety tends to run free right before bed, as I am trying to drift off to sleep. Instead of going to sleep peacefully, my body screams, “Nope. Let’s worry about things you can’t change all night long!” It’s easy to carry this uneasiness over into the next day. Still, I have found that setting positive affirmations or intentions, both when I wake up and when I go to sleep, help me face each new day with renewed optimism and happiness.
Some of the things that have helped me go to bed content and/or wake up ready to face the day lately:
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the multi-talented, do-everything superstar, has been Tweeting positive affirmations for his followers for a long time now. He does this not only at the start of the day, but also before bed. He recently collected these affirmations and published them in a cute little book, Gmorning, Gnight: Little Pep Talks for Me & You! I often will send these tweets to my loved ones before bed, and they always reply back with something along the lines of, “Aw, I love that guy.” Check out the book- you will love him, too.
I’ve been watching a lot of ASMR videos before bed, as they help me shut down my racing mind and drift off to sleep in a jiffy. If you don’t know what ASMR is, there are tons of articles out there on it, but more or less, it is a type of sensory response the body has to certain types of stimuli. For instance, you may get tingles or goosebumps from hearing certain sounds or seeing certain visual triggers like light or hand movements. I love the ASMRtists that post these videos, because they are so willing to experiment with different triggers to see what people like, even if those things might be surprising. I am thinking about trying out video production myself, too!
My favorite ASMR creators right now are Gibi ASMR and Tena ASMR. Here’s an example of a Gibi video where she whispers positive affirmations in your ear, and it totally works for me. If I am feeling anxious and don’t have time for a nap or a run, I listen to something like this full blast on my headphones and my energy and spirit are renewed and rejuvenated!
The last thing I wanted to talk about today is a side project I have been doing. I decided that I need to see positive messages throughout the day, so I set up a store called Fount and Foundry where I create or distribute products created by others. We sell bracelets with motivational messages, metal reusable straws, cute watches, and more. The one rule is that each of the things I sell make me smile or feel better about the world. One of my latest creations, in collaboration with the amazing calligrapher and amazing artist The Scribblist (seriously, y’all, go check her out), is a series of affirmation mugs and totes.
We put sayings on them that remind us throughout the day to stay strong, feel worthy, and do good. It’s a creative outlet that is positive and helps us share the love, just as we are trying to do with this blog. I would be grateful if you would consider checking it out.
Love, love, love. Sending so much love.