How relaxed are you?
By BillLife is stressful.
Between work, family, and everything else, sometimes we forget to stop and smell the roses.
This is how we become overly stressed to the point where it affects our daily lives. When we keep pushing ourselves to be more productive and neglect relaxation or “Me Time”, the stress will accumulate and eventually be too much. It is nearly impossible to eliminate all stress, but the important thing is we recognize our stress levels and attempt to manage them.
Have you ever had a super busy week and then the littlest hiccup sets you off? Our goal here today is to not let you get to the point where a messed up coffee order is the last straw. You need to manage your stress by countering it with relaxation. When you start to feel your “blood boil” or feel slightly “on-edge”, take five minutes to engage in something that relaxes you. There are many activities and techniques you can use to increase relaxation, but those should be things you come up with on your own. You need to find something that is special to you and really centers your mind, body, and soul.
When I am overly stressed, I like to do a light meditation. I will turn off my phone, computer, and outside world for five minutes while I try to center myself. I start by controlling my breathing by taking deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. I then will gently move my feet back and fourth and give all my concentration to this action. This will clear my mind and help me to focus on myself. I do this for a few minutes continuing to concentrate on my breathing and then I will slowly open my eyes. As I quickly get acclimated back into my busy life, I feel more relaxed and centered.
Your relaxation techniques can be anything you want it to be. It could be to take a break and read a book or your favorite magazine for a few minutes when you feel overly stressed. It could be going outside to get some fresh air or take a quick walk. Anything that works for you.
Overall you need to recognize when your stress levels are getting too high. Once you recognize you are getting stressed out, you need to take a break from what you are doing and center yourself with your own personalized relaxation technique. If you take these simple and quick steps to reducing your stress levels, you will see a major improvement in the way you feel day-to-day.
Life is full of complications, the trick is to try and make it as less complicated as you can.
Don’t be afraid to stop and smell the roses…
