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Know Your Stressbusters

Stress is a normal part of life. Still, like anything else, too much can be harmful to not only our mental faculties but also our physical health. We must not only reduce stress in our lives but bolster our wellness to weather the inevitable stresses.

The basics of bolstering wellness are to: 

  • Eat food that helps you feel good.
  • Move and stretch your body daily.
  • Adhere to a good sleep routine.

You must figure out how what works for your unique needs best in these areas of nutrition, exercise, and rest. When you do, that foundation will keep your body more robust and healthy.

Learning to let your mind free of stresses and worries is also an important stress buster. Meditation and quiet contemplation are two methods of reducing stress. If you’re not into meditation, spend a half-hour or so each night reading a good book in a comfortable chair or take up an enjoyable hobby. Anything that distracts you from the concerns of the day and allows you a chance to decompress can be a worthwhile activity.

Go for a walk in the park or get a pet. Get a dog and take the dog for a walk in the park. A walk outdoors in the fresh air can do wonders for reducing stress, as can a companion animal. It likely wouldn’t hurt to combine the two if you’re so inclined.

Play games. Card games. Board games. Video games. Whatever floats your boat. You could also try puzzles. Putting a jigsaw puzzle together may be an excellent way to decompress also. It’s hard to worry about work when you’re trying to find a matching piece! Or, do a crossword puzzle, word find, or sudoku.

If you’re artistic, you could paint, draw, or even just doodle. You could try needlecrafts, sand art, sculpture, wood carving, sewing, or whatever suits your interests.

Take time to listen to music or watch television. Take an evening and go out for dinner and a movie. See a play. Go to a sporting event.

The important thing is to take some time out for yourself. Find something that works for you, and remember to take time to do it. Relaxing and recharging is essential!

Practice Being Organized

Some stress is caused by situations beyond our control, making it all the more important to do what we can to reduce stress in the circumstances we can control.

One thing within our control is our level of organization. While it may seem to have little to do with stress levels on the face of it, a lack of organization will prove otherwise in a stressful situation.

If you’re under pressure to find an item in a stressful situation, imagine how much more stressed you become when you cannot locate it.

As you shuffle through papers, folders, and drawers, your frantic searching may cause further disorganization, setting the stage for a later repeat of the situation. If, instead, you can quickly locate what you need when you need it, your stress levels will be lower than they might otherwise be.

Naturally, the first step is to do a thorough cleaning, eliminate clutter, and organize everything needed.

  • Make sure you organize everything in a manner that makes sense for you, using a system you will remember and stick with.
  • Once you get organized, stay organized.
  • Each day, set aside a few minutes to get your work area back in order.

Ideally and when practical, follow a pattern where you handle each item only once. For example, when you get a new document or piece of mail, read it and then act on it, file it, or recycle it. Eliminate the “I’ll do it later” items as much as possible. Too often, later never comes because of other more pressing needs. Additionally, you won’t suffer the stress of seeing a growing stack of “I’ll do it later” items sitting on your desk. You can better focus on the job at hand rather than being frustrated by the amount of work left to do.

Being better organized will not eliminate stress, but it can help keep it at reduced levels. Plus, it makes for a better and easier home and workplace, so there is no downside. Get organized and reap the benefits of increasing your productivity and reducing your stress level.

Remember to Breathe

Feeling a little stressed is a normal part of the working day, but when stress gets to be too much, it can affect your judgment causing you to make rash decisions. It can also affect you physically, causing tension in your muscles, increased heart rate, or aches and pains.

The key is to keep stress at a manageable level. One way to do this is with a simple breathing exercise.

  • Sit still in a relaxed position with your back straight.
  • Clear your mind as much as possible.
  • Breathe in slowly, for a deep breath.
  • Hold, but only as long as it is comfortable.
  • Breathe out slowly.
  • Hold.
  • Breathe in.
  • Hold.
  • Breathe out.
  • Hold.

Repeat often. Take a few seconds here and there. Use a simple breathing exercise regularly to help lower your stress level.

On Making Changes in Your Body

When you want to make changes to your body, such as losing or gaining weight, adding muscle, or developing your fashion style, it’s good to remember that it all begins with what you think of yourself. For satisfying progress and results, cut yourself a break and learn to discipline your thoughts to focus more on not only what you appreciate about your body but also what you appreciate in your life.

Positive transformations can take place within your body. There are solutions around for you. If you can tap into a new positive expectation, you will be brought to ideas that you had not noticed before, or you may try something again with a whole new attitude that makes all the difference. Or, on an even bigger scale, you may find a new understanding as to why being slowed down with difficulty with your body provides you with an experience that helps you develop a needed skill or have a special experience in your life.

When you know what improvement you want in your body, you have a few choices. You can feel angry, depressed, or generally awful about yourself…or you can treat yourself as a child of the universe who is learning, and you can cut yourself a break.

All that happened before is part of the process that brings you to now, and that’s all, just a step along the way. If you notice that you often look back and kick your own butt about stuff, try letting it go instead. You can be sure you did the best you could with the information you had at the time. So be kind to yourself. You are open to change and improvement now, and that is fine and good.

Move forward with inspiration knowing that you have always made the best move you were capable of at the time, and you will continue to do the same. Now is the time to nurture yourself by controlling your focus. What matters is what happens next, and your results going forward are directly related to feeling good now.

Imagine how you will feel when you have what you want and choose to feel that way now. Get jazzed about all the experiences you want to have and what you want to create and go with that feeling as long as you can for a few minutes every single day. Daydream that the changes you want are already here. Do it with an attitude of fun. It’s fun to play with ideas of what you can choose and what the improvements will mean for your life.

Appreciate vitality when you see it. Use the beauty you see around you as a reason to feel good. Know that more vitality is coming to you when you can feel good, even if only for a little bit at first. Each time you practice, you will become better and better at feeling good and appreciating your body.

The importance of being okay with slow results can’t be over-emphasized. If you allow yourself to reinforce feelings of frustration or anger at slow results, you defeat your own purpose. Change can come, and it may be at a snail’s pace, but if you focus on the slow pace, you get more of a slow-down. 

Instead, please focus on the momentum. Ideas you can use are coming faster and faster. It is getting easier and easier to maintain the good habits you intended. There is momentum, and you are heading in a direction that feels good as you remember to enjoy life from where you are right now. 

Tap Into Your Power

Inspirational video inspired by the poem “Power” by Barbara Zarrella which follows.

Power

Just saying the word emits force. The emphasis on the first syllable, the way your mouth has to round out to form the word, the way the air pushes the word out into sound.

Power is everywhere. Consider the commercial airliner. Remember the thrust that pushes you into your seat on take-off. Think of how many people are riding with you. This huge craft can be lifted into the air by a single person! That’s power.

Power

Coveted since the beginning of time. Two generals standing in a battlefield posturing. One points to one of his men and requests that he fight and defend though it may mean certain death. That soldier runs brave and mighty to fulfill that task. The other general retreats. That’s power.

Power

Nature at her best. See the dark clouds, smell the cool dampness in the breeze. Take mental inventory of loved ones. Are they home? Safe? Check around the estate. Pick up, put away, tie down, close up. The soft dance of raindrops begin followed by battering hail, then the sound of a train. All of a sudden it is quiet and sunny as if nothing happened. The splinters and broken glass prove the devastation. That’s power.

Power

The miracle of new life. The anticipation of a new human being forming in the womb. Old life is changing forever. So many goals, so many plans, so many decisions, so many surprises. How could such a tiny creature hold our entire soul in its grasp? Nothing can match the power of a child standing with open arms looking at you. A tiny voice says “up.” That’s power.

Where Do Great Ideas Come From

Years ago, I had e-mail correspondence with someone I barely know who asked if I ever watched The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch (the show is no longer in production, but there is a book). I responded that I had not and took note because usually when I get a tip like that, I can learn something. I followed through by watching some episodes, and I enjoyed the show pretty well. 

And here is the part I needed to see. I noticed an interesting phenomenon. 

On the show, one of the main things Donny Deutsch does is to get insight from each person featured about exactly where and how they got their big idea. Of course, that makes total sense because it is in the show’s name, after all, and Donny is trying to educate and coach people in his audience to find their own big idea and go for it. So it seems that guests really would expect that question. 

Nevertheless, each time he asks it, the person pauses for a moment and looks as if they are processing the question and aren’t sure what to say. As if they are saying to themselves, “Hey, that is a good question, where did that idea come from?” 

Seeing that scenario play out time and again led me to this interpretation: The question is difficult because when people have a great idea, they are fully engaged in whatever they’re studying at the time inspiration strikes. All they remember is that they were busy following their noses, uncovering clues, letting one thing lead to another, and it all seemed obvious at the time…until they get this question anyway. That is when it becomes apparent they were just in their creative flow, and it’s hard to explain.

Creativity is something that we all have if we can open to it. The first step for someone sitting around wanting ideas but having none is to remove all barriers to getting into the flow of creativity. Creativity can’t occur while sitting in judgment of every thought that pops into your head. A person has to open their mind and be comfortable with the creative process. Some people are very good at tapping into their creativity consistently; others might need to remember to let go and play a little.

Begin by exploring things that catch your eye. Follow your nose a bit and see what happens. Once you have gathered some info, give yourself a rest and see what your wonderfully creative mind cooks up. When you feel a little kick of enthusiasm, you may be on to something.