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Stress Less in 2009
It is pretty easy to feel really stressed out, wouldn’t you agree?
The normal day-to-day pressures can easily build up out of all proportion and then there may be the added complication of illness, redundancy, financial pressure plus everywhere we look, everything we read, seems to exude a sense of doom and gloom…
If this sounds familiar then read on, especially if you wish to be reminded of simple techniques that can make a big difference!
The thing about stress is that it comes from the feeling that you have no choice about something. Yet by recognising the choices available in any situation (however bizarre), you can actually regain a sense of being in control and stress less. Here are a few choices you might like to consider.
Do a Done List
Whether or not lists are what organise your days, how about making a list that details some of what you have actually achieved! You might list things like ‘read a chapter of my new book’ or ‘researched positive thinking on the internet’. The point is, this is sending a positive message to your brain telling it to appreciate the things you have achieved and that these things are valuable and worthy of being recorded.
The question is not what you look at but what you see.
Henry David Thoreau
Make Music
Sooner or later most people acknowledge how their emotional states can be powered by the magic of music. And as you think about what kind of music helps you relax and what tracks energise you, perhaps you can make a ‘feel good’ compilation music CD.
Most people are about as happy as they make their minds up to be
Abraham Lincoln.
Make Friends
Perhaps you are familiar with the sound of a little voice inside your head (often referred to as your inner dialogue)…You know the one that has tried to sabotage your best efforts. One of the kindest things you can do for yourself is to begin to acknowledge that little nag may have had a good intention (ironically, to keep you safe), but now you choose to explore more relevant options and choices. Begin by noticing that the more you tune into that con-artist tricking you out of a high regard for yourself, the more you can decide what you truly listen to.
Laughter
Laughter is such a wonderfully potent diffuser of tension, releasing lots of feel-good chemicals into our neurology, however letting go enough to giggle let alone belly laugh, can sometimes feel impossible. Which is why we all need reminding how to find a fast-fix chuckle that comes from something like listening to children telling silly jokes or watch a funny DVD.
Or, you can always provide yourself and your family with a really good regression by slipping into the mindset of being six. Try playing Pictionary left handed (visa versa for lefties) or make up some silly word games:
- Take a word, any word and, as you would have done aged six, being as silly as possible to make it rhyme – say, hey! Neigh, lay, away, today, hooray, soufflé, poulet, touché, duvet…
- Change the words ewe can ear, right and sea.
- Deliberately mis-hear worms that stew deer.
- Add a rhyming word/bird each/peach time/rhyme you/true speak/beak.
Or make up some crazy game of your own!
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
James Barrie
Be Here Now!
Sometimes our thinking runs miles ahead into the future (which can cause anxiety) or to the past (which can cause depression). One simple, smart and powerful tip to put the oomph into ‘positive thinking’ is to take a few moments each day and focus on positive things you can see, hear, feel, taste and smell in any given moment. Become alert to your five senses several times a day, and notice the changes in your thinking.
Attitude of Gratitude
Naming three things you are grateful for each day, powerfully re-conditions your brain to think positively. Perhaps today you are most grateful for your pet, a particular colour and something delicious and perhaps tomorrow you can play this game with your family over breakfast. The benefits are immediate.
There are three types of people in the world – those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who say ‘what happened?’
John Newbern
And finally, remember that courage builds confidence!
So as you begin to imagine new ways to think smarter and stress less, what are you doing differently?
About the author
Name: Kay Cooke
Website: http://www.the-me-group.com
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