You might experience it during your hectic commute to or from work, or you might feel it while you try to find that perfect gift for that special someone. Stress comes in a size that fits everyone and we all have to deal with it. Aside from taking that huge step and seeking stress management counseling, try relaxing and reading a few ideas of what I do to combat stress.
If you were to ask a dozen people to define stress to you, you might get a dozen different answers. Why? Because stress is many different things to each individual person it affects. What might be stressful for you may not be stressful for someone else. Take golf, for example: I don't play golf because I'm not any good at it. I have played golf with friends and my game was horrible in comparison to theirs. Golf turned out to be a very stressful game for me because I was frustrated because I was unable to play the game as well as my friends. My friends, on the other hand had a great time playing golf. See what I mean? What is stressful for you may not be stressful for the other person. As far as a definition for stress goes, I'm sure you could look it up and get something like: The amount of physical and mental wear and tear on the individual. Possibly something more in a psychology reference book, if you care to look. My definition of stress is: that feeling I get when things get hectic or uncomfortable, simple enough.
12 OUNCES EQUALS
What stress do I have in my life? Some elements may be similar in your life, such as raising children, or worse yet, teenagers. Others may include making ends meet in a busy household, maintaining your vehicle year round, house payments, utility payments, credit card bills, and so on. If this sounds like events that are taking place in your life, I encourage you to read on.
One of the first steps I take to avoid stress is to try to maintain a non confrontational attitude. I play a little game in which I purposely try to greet or make friendly eye contact with as many people as I can in a day.You'd be surprised at how many people are more than ready to return a friendly greeting from a stranger. All too often I see people whose expressions look like they are having the worst day ever, but suddenly break into a wide smile when greeted. I don't have an explanation why, but it makes me feel good inside knowing I made someone smile.
Waiting in lines are a stressful environment for many. Try striking up a conversation while in line to help pass time. Taking your mind off of the stressful event will help relieve stress. If it doesn't, perhaps returning at a less busy time will reward you with a shorter line. Planning ahead will also help. Think about where you are going. For example, banks are generally busier during the morning and towards the end of the week. If you can help it try to avoid the known busier times.
Your vehicle can spawn many stressful events if you fail to maintain it, or if you break down and find yourself at the mercy of a mechanic. There are many garages out there that offer flexible payment plans for auto repairs. Do your homework while your vehicle is running good to explore and compare vehicle repair businesses so if you do break down, you aren't grasping at straws in your efforts to find a reasonably inexpensive mechanic.
One of the most popular reasons for arguments, in my opinion, is money. My suggestion is to formulate a budget that categorizes all of your expenses at this moment. Now subtract that figure from your income. How much do you have left over? Enough? Coming up a little short? You can avoid money woes by drafting up a simple expense sheet for yourself, to see where your money goes. Try this for a month, at first. You can make immediate modifications on items where you can obviously save money. By the end of the month you should have a fairly efficient budget to go by. Think of ways to save money during the month, and apply these ideas to your budget scheme.
Want some ideas? Try these:
1. Drink Coffee? Make your own. Save money, less stress.
Do you buy your coffee at a convenience store or someplace like Starbucks? If so, buy yourself a home coffeemaker and some fresh ground coffee beans, along with your favorite coffee flavorings. Aside from the cost of the coffeemaker, your costs for coffee beans and flavorings, etc should pay for themselves in less than a month. Where I live, a convenience store 20 ounce coffee costs .25. Multiple that by the number of days I work in a month: 4 weeks x 5 days per week = 20 days per month that I buy the .25 20 ounce coffee. So, 20 days x .25 = .00. Now, I can buy a bag of fresh ground coffee for my coffeemaker for about ten bucks, and a bottle of the coffee flavoring for around five dollars and a bag of sugar, (or NutraSweet) for another 3 bucks, so there's around .00 I spent for the month on coffee that I'll be making at home. I just saved $12.00 for the month, times 12 equals 4.00 for the year. Okay, figure 0.00 because you can probably find a really nice travel mug for about 4 bucks. Not bad!
2. Saving gas: Save gas. Save money. Less stress, Right?
First thing you must do is plan your routes. Taking the most direct route will save you gas, and unnecessary wear and tear on your vehicle. You are reading this, so you have access to the internet. Check out one of those travel websites, or the map quest type of sites that plan your route. If more than one route is available, select the route with the least amount of stops. Stop and go driving wastes gas. So do "jackrabbit" starts. That's where you are sitting at the stoplight or stop sign, and when you go you tromp on the gas pedal and take off on the verge of spinning your wheels. Avoid that practice. Also, make sure you maintain your fluid levels according to your manufacturers specifications. An engine that is low on oil, or coolant will run hotter and will also burn more gas.
3. Hectic Home Front? Treat yourself to a time-out.
Things getting a little heated at home because the wife just found out you're wasting money every day on coffee when she's offered to make it for you at home? Treat yourself to a time-out. Avoid raising your voice in anger. Instead, slip on your shoes and coat and head out into the fresh air for a brisk walk. Pick a route that will take you past familiar surroundings that inspire good memories. Take along an I-pod with some of your favorite songs for the walk. Try walking until you know you've calmed down, and consider the other parties' cooling down time as well. We all have different amounts of time that it takes us to cool down. Cooler heads usually prevail. Try it!
Many times, stress is the result of poor planning, poor reaction or poor timing. Admittedly, some of us have considerably less time than others...BUT...we all have times that we have a few minutes to think and we should use this time wisely to plan our days, plan our reactions, plan our routes and devise our plans! Our minds are the greatest gift we have and we can do amazing things with our minds, and reducing stress is one of them.
Take care, Live well.
Suggestions For Stress Management 12 OUNCES EQUALS
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