"The stress you face today is building the strength you need for tomorrow"
Wet & Cold
It rained every single moment of our 4 day vacation this week.
Our expected views of the mountains were nearly non-existent, as a constant dense fog accompanied the torrential down poor.
Opportunities to get out of our hotel and van were thwarted by the cold temperatures, as the rain normally wouldn’t have stopped us.
The Scooter
I am a sweetheart when it comes to passing by strangers!
Always ramping up my energy and waving with both hands in a friendly manor as I usually say something like ‘hello, I hope you’re having a good day” as I continue in stride right on past them.
Today, I waved at a stranger as he did the introverts mouth scrunch and face nod while looking down and away as he past by on his scooter.
A short while later he passed me for a second time. This time coming from behind and zinging by at lightning speed.
As he approached slowly for the third time, now facing me, I noticed he was actually making eye contact.
The Water Pitcher
It used to frustrate me way deep down in my soul…
I’d get thirsty and head to the refrigerator for a drink of water. I’d open the door only to discover an empty water pitcher sitting there on the bottom shelf. I would immediately get upset and say things like…
Every time? Every time? Why the heck do I always HAVE to fill it up? No one else can fill it up? Why is it that it is always empty -or- there are only 2 tables spoons of water in it? As if that’s a reason not to fill it up.
Aggravated, I would walk over to the sink. Pop the lid off the pitcher, grab the sprayer from the back of the sink, cut on the water and begin to fill it up. Toxic anger, coursing through my veins every single second of the seemingly long process. I’d return the pitcher to the fridge and walk out of the kitchen still steaming.
Do Your Best
Do you have a presentation coming up? An important interview? A sales pitch? A public speech?
Do you feel uneasy or stressed out about it?
Have you heard of the 5 p’s.
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
The comfort and confidence that Proper Preparation brings to the table can’t be ignored. This will go a long way in helping you to leave behind negative stress energy and not carry it into your big moment.
I also want to take a moment introduce you to another powerful tool that I love to use just prior to a big event.
The exercise is called “exchanging your energy.”
Less Stress²
The better we are at managing stress, the less stress we have! I’m not only talking about the stress we are managing or removing. That’s a kind of a no brainer. Stress – Stress = Less Stress
This post is an attempt to articulate a compound effect that I have observed through working on myself and with others. I would like to highlight the “potential stress” that we are no longer adding, if we choose to manage our stress properly.
Have you ever noticed how, when you are already frustrated/stressed out, you somehow find a way to bang your knee on piece of furniture?
Stress Road Map
Attention is fertilizer. It doesn’t matter who planted the seed nor how evil or nice the seed is; what ever we pay attention to, will grow.
One of the best, universally sound tools that can fit into any Stress Management Toolbox, is learning to become disciplined when it comes to knowing where we put our attention.
If we attend to the pain of the past we can easily become depressed. If we attend to the possibility of pain of the future, we can easily become anxious. Taking yesterday’s stress, tomorrow’s stress and stacking it onto today’s stress. Overwhelming the system.
Stress + Happiness = 10
If you are seeking happiness by synthetically altering your state,
or you are seeking stress relief by altering your state with drugs, food or alcohol: than you are not relieving, nor escaping stress at all.
You are running from it, prolonging it and multiplying it.
You will always be chasing happiness if this pattern…
Wisdom Moment
Wisdom Moment: Our boys (1 & 3 years old) were able to spend some time with their Great Grands (82 & 86 years old) this week!
As I sat there on the ground, legs stretched out into the grass with my back leaning against a cottonwood tree, I watched them all play as I reflected on how similar children are to the elderly.
Just go
Before I was 27, though living within 30 minutes of the beach my entire life, I rarely ever went. Like, once every 2 or 3 years.
I used to follow very close to my Dad’s footprints of working hard and staying close to home.
Though that lifestyle is honorable…
The Hard Days
Without Stress, how would you know what relief feels like?
Would relief be the same?
Would it feel as good?
Imagine a moment in your life where you were really under the pressure of…