This week one of my clients said offhandedly, “sometimes my mind is very polluted.” I loved it so much I wrote it down.
That’s it exactly. Sometimes our minds are very polluted. 
Her astute comment got me thinking about how to do a mental detox.
Meditation is popular of course. Headspace is a great app that many of my clients use.
Saying affirmations is also popular. You don’t have to say them out loud for them to be effective. You simply decide what thoughts you want to have rather than letting them go 100% on autopilot. We had an awesome conversation in one of my accountability groups about affirmations on wealth. One of my uber-successful clients shared her affirmation for financial abundance.
“Money flows easily and effortlessly to me.”
Love that one. Now when I feel money stress coming on I’ve got that tape to play! I also like to pull cards out of a deck of affirmations. My favorite is Abraham Hicks’ Money and the Law of Attraction Cards.
Journaling is another way to detox the mind. I use my journals in a couple of different ways. One is to rant and rave so that I spare actual people from having to listen to me. I also use my journal to recount my day which 99% leads into writing down what I’m grateful for. Last but not least, one of my favorite things to do is to journal my vision. I’ll write about the beautiful retreat center I built in Costa Rica. I’ll write about my business and how it’s grown. I’ll write about what fantastic shape I’m in and how good it feels to be 40. It’s fiction, but I write it all like it’s absolute fact, and it always makes me feel good.
Go outside! I’m sure you’ve experienced how much better you feel after you go for a walk, a hike, a run, or just sit in your backyard. It still surprises me how much it changes my internal dialogue. I have five clients right now that are specifically making the commitment to get outside and walk or exercise. Not in gyms, not on treadmills, but actually go outside and they are reporting back on how much better they feel doing that.
Just breathe. In my head I say, “I am breathing in, I am breathing out.” Eventually, I don’t have to say the words. I’m just focused on the breath moving in and out of my body. It settles me every time. Eventually, I’ll notice that I stopped noticing my breath. The nice thing is you can do it any time, any where.
So here’s the deal with a mental detox. First know that you need one. That means noticing your internal dialogue. Set an intention to clean in out. So if you go outside or decide to breathe you know you are doing it because you want to clean up your mind – knowing the why behind the action makes the effect stronger. Then do what feels like it will help. If everything sounds too hard. Just breathe.
Okay, time to go practice breathing. Ha!