Go ahead and acknowledge you have stress in your life. Embrace that fact. Stress exists for all of us, and comes from a variety of sources – some of which we control, and others over which we have absolutely no control at all. I’m no sociologist, but it seems to me that stress is the main barrier preventing our personal happiness. If that’s true, then would you agree that breaking through that barrier could lead to significant improvement in your emotional health and well being? Would you also agree that when you are stressed, it is difficult (if not impossible) to recognize the positive? It’s as if one displaces the other, and you only have space enough for one of them. Stress and positivity cannot coexist. At least, that’s what I’ve been pondering today. Granted, there are different kinds of stress in our lives, but if we focus on emotional stress – that is something we can control 100%!

How do you manage stress? We collected a small sample of ideas this morning during our training session, and the flip chart pictured captures many of those ideas. There are ways to shift away from stress while you’re at work, and ideas to implement while you’re at home. This list is far from comprehensive. What would you add? What do YOU do to relieve stressful situations in your own life?

 

 

The Other Three

1. Exercise – done
2. Meditate – done
3. Kindness – done

Gratitudes

1. Hearing about significant ROI for a client – after only ONE month!
2. Watching my daughter mature and grow into a beautiful young woman
3. Reconnecting conversation with Laura C
4. Safe and uneventful business trip
5. Youth leaders who love my daughter
6. New random dishes to capture better photographs of my food
7. Warm fuzzy socks
8. Email from Nancy about her start to the Dopamine Challenge
9. Laughing when I realized I was wearing 4″ heels while doing dishes, knowing there’s no social expectation (because I am so not Donna Reed)

Positive Experience

Accepting the fact that it takes a variety of communities, our modern-day villages, to create great people (I wrote about that here), I witnessed my daughter in one of her most significant community circles tonight.

She was a key participant in a church youth program this evening, and as parents we were able to attend. My daughter was given an assignment in advance, and on her own prepared a talk, which she delivered with better oral skills than many adults I know. She performed a duet with one of her friends, and her voice sang out with such sweetness, purity and clarity, I was proud of her confidence and ability to share her many gifts and talents with others. Immediately following the program’s conclusion, she hurried to introduce me to one of her favorite youth leaders, about whom she’s been telling me since July of last year.

If community is about creating quality individuals, I am certainly grateful tonight for the community of strong women my daughter is building around herself.