Having a Bad Hair Day? Four Stress-Relieving Tips

May 27th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
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I worry more than your average Joe.

And financial fear, above all, gives me ulcers. If my company has a bad quarter, I’m waiting for the pink slip. If the market’s having a bad day, I’m planning jobs I can do when I’m 85, to compensate for my nosediving 401K .

Here’s a few actions I take to keep my stress level down-

1) Stay Proactive- When I stop moving, and start ruminating, I’m in trouble. I’m wearing my “Victim Queen” t-shirt, and it feels good for a while, then I feel out of control and helpless.

This visual helps me get back to a proactive place:

Stephen Covey’s Circle of Influence.*

  • Proactive people focus their time and energy on their Circle of Influence - things they can control.
  • Reactive People focus their time and energy on the Circle of Concern - things they can not control.

*, from his classic self-help book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”
I know my head is in the circle of concern when I start eating Tums like M&Ms. I’m going nowhere fast. Not good.

 

 

2) Remember that “perfection is not just elusive, it is an illusion. ” **
**Unitarian Minister, Henry Babcock

I wish I could see into the future, but I haven’t developed that seventh sense yet. I’m never going to know what the next day holds. My key to good planning is that it evolves and grows as I get new information. Knowing I can proactively adjust to accommodate new occurrences takes a tremendous amount of pressure off.

 

3) “And control is an illusion, too.”** There’s that old prayer from somewhere (any one know?):

“God,
Grant Me the Serenity to Accept the Things I Can Not Change,
the Courage to Change the Things I Can,
and the Wisdom to Know the Difference.”

Kind of corny but, hey, it works.

 

And lastly,

4) Turn your mind off. I do it with exercise, and writing this blog. Many people meditate, or have a hobby. When I give my head a break, I’m calmer, more at peace, and ultimately, stronger to deal.

 

What are some ways you handle stress?

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  1. Comment by no imagechapeloflove (Who am I?) on 27 May 2008:

    As irreligious as I am, this is my favorite prayer. It could have been said by the Buddha]. But it wasn’t!
    From Wikipedia: Reinhold Niebuhr wrote the prayer for use in a sermon, perhaps as early as 1934 [1]. He is quoted in the January, 1950 Grapevine [2] as saying the prayer “might have been spooking about for years, perhaps centuries, but I don’t think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it myself.” [3] His original wording:
    God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

    As major stress-relievers and serotonin boosters go, exercise is the best, if not the quickest, way to detox. (The quickest would be a double shot of single malt Scotch and 4 ibuprofen, but don’t tell my spouse I said that!) A half hour on the treadmill at 6.0 mph does the trick for me!
    See you at the gym!

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  2. Comment by Barbara Ling on 28 May 2008:

    Another way to deal with stress is give yourself permission to feel grief/anger/etc….. give yourself time to work through everything until you can proactively say, I’ve been there, I’ve done that, it’s time for me to move on.

    Taking ownership of stress helps you to lose it, I’ve found….

    Barbara

    Barbara Lings last blog post..21 Days to a more profitable blog - Day 9! Add Amazon to your Wordpress blog sidebar

  3. Comment by no imageLisa (Who am I?) on 28 May 2008:

    @Barbara - those are great ideas. Thanks for adding to the discussion. L

    @chapeloflove - thank you for the research, and for your thoughtful and heartfelt comment. Hope to continue hearing from you- L

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  4. Comment by no imageDark Angel (Who am I?) on 29 May 2008:

    I put on my ipod, take a walk for about 5 minutes. I pay attention to the minutest detail around me. Like a butterfly on a leaf, an ant on the ground… somehow, it takes my mind away…

    If i cant take the walk, i type in what I’m so stressed about, print it, tear it and flush it down the toilet.

    Dark Angels last blog post..What doesn’t go up…

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  5. Comment by no imageLisa (Who am I?) on 30 May 2008:

    @ Dark Angel - I like your ideas. Thanks for contributing - L

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  6. Comment by no imageMike (Who am I?) on 31 May 2008:

    This is so smart. I agree with #1 in particular. Isn’t it weird that your stress level can actually be lower when you’re doing more (although I think it depends on what you are doing)?

    Mikes last blog post..Spread the message: don’t join the club

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  7. Comment by Trackbacks on 6 September 2008:

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