Do you ever get completely stuck on something you’re working on or doing or creating? Just completely blank on how to fix a problem or take the next step? Say to yourself “I just don’t get it, I just don’t see the solution”?  That often happens to me when I need a break from what I’m working on. I recognize it now so clearly, but only in retrospect…..AFTER I take a short break…..that a mental and physical break was all I needed to figure something out. 

Yesterday I was working on some web site changes. Now, I’m not a web site designer, but I DO know I can learn things…everything can be figured out and I truly believe that.  Even if it means getting someone who knows more to help me. 

BUT - I always try myself first because with the internet now you can pretty much find solutions to all your “how-to” questions if you just search using the same words you are asking yourself in your head. I guarantee you, pretty close to 100% of the time SOMEONE has had the same problem or question as you are having at the moment. 

But sometimes it takes a while to even do that, when I’m locked into that frustrated feeling. Like yesterday…..

What came to my rescue and helped me ultimately figure out what I needed to do? My dog!

She came over to me and politely (if you can call repeated nudging and putting paws on my lap polite) asked for a walk. It was way past time. I knew it would be good for me too. 

So I took a short walk but decided to go to a beautiful little spot that is close to where I live but where I don’t get to nearly enough. Every time I go I think: wow I should come here more often, it’s so easy. Why don’t I?

I happen to live somewhere where beautiful spots aren’t that hard to find, but I have lived in huge cities most of my adult life and I KNOW you can find beauty anywhere there too. All it takes is a bit of awareness of what’s actually around you. Find something in whatever view you have out the window, notice a building structure or something pretty. Go for a walk and focus on patterns of cracks on the sidewalk, or the beautiful colors of fruits and vegetables at a market, or spend a minute watching a spider or bee on a flower. Even something as easy as looking up at the clouds and watching them for just a few moments…..

Seriously - taking just a moment to do these things will bring down your stress level and clear your brain of the clutter that was stopping you from being creative in whatever you were working on. 

Practicing doing this on the daily not only trains you to see things you might never have seen clearly before, things that exist every day for us to appreciate, but it also slows us down and lets us truly appreciate how amazing the world is. It’s hard not to be happy and get some clarity when we focus on these little things - even if it’s just for the  moment. And doing this regularly lets us train ourselves to relax, re-focus, get un-stuck, and see things in new ways. It’s free, you can do it anywhere, any time. What could be better? 

That’s what I’m all about: finding the beauty and even momentary peace in the very little things. It doesn’t have to be something big at all. 

One day, I was trying to write and just could not find the words. I looked up for a moment and saw this pretty site on my wall. It was rainbow colors reflecting from a cheap little crystal I have hanging  in the window to pick up sun to do just that: throw colors around my walls when the sun hits it just right. Often I just ignore it. But this time  I stood up, stretched a bit and just watched…. just for a few moments I immersed myself in the fascination of it. Getting out of my own head for just a seconds actually, cleared whatever blocks I had and the words came when I sat down again. 

Because appreciation of the seemingly tiny things in the world can be inspiring. Or at the least it helps us relax, think about something else other than our immediate frustration, stress, confusion etc. For a moment, we clear our brains of all that just by focusing on these little  things that actually do exist, but which we are “too busy” or too wrapped up in our daily lives to notice most of the time. 

Sometimes just getting out of your head, for even just a few minutes, is all you need to energize your brain to tell you what to do next. 

So - did I solve my web site problem on my own suddenly? Did the technical knowledge I needed just come into my head? Was I suddenly a professional web site designer? No! BUT - and this is the most important thing:  I got clarity on the questions I needed to ask, which was more than half the battle. I knew what to search for on the internet. I figured it out. As all things can be. Then I felt awesome about my achievement even though I couldn’t have done it without help.  Another reminder that we CAN figure stuff out. We just have to put ourselves in the right space to do that.

Inspiration Spark!: And sometimes…..that means taking a break, and enjoying the little things. Enjoying something beautiful wherever you find it. 

Sign up here for my newsletter for tips on nutrition, fitness, healthy habits and wellness to Spark Health, Ignite Joy!