Twenty-five Ways to Ease Into a Reduced Stress Lifeplan
Making significant behavioral changes, even those for the better, can be stressful. With that in mind, try these more relaxing ways to ease into a lower-stress lifestyle.
25) Set your alarm clock to wake you 15 minutes earlier every morning, and then use that time to make a to-do list for the day, read a magazine article, or simply start the day off with a healthy breakfast. You will barely notice the 15 minute loss of sleep, but the potentially increased productivity is sure to be a major stress-buster!
24) Sing. In the car, in the shower- music soothes the savage beast, and that includes the one that is lurking within us all, as well.
23) Tickle a child. The sheer undalturated joyful peels of glee are contagious, and relaxing. If you don’t have a child of your own, borrow a neice or nephew, the child of a neighbor, or heck, even your husband.
22) Paint. Not the “hmm, what color will look best in the guest room” type of painting, but the relaxing act of creating a bit of artwork type of painting. Don’t worry about talent- we are striving for relaxation here, not a masterpiece. And if it turns out that you unlock a hidden talent, so much the better.
21) Write down all must-haves and must-do’s. Nothing is more stressfull than wondering what it is that you have forgotten to pick up (was it your mother in law from the airport, or the drycleaning?) or drop off (outgrown clothes to the Goodwill? Cat to the vetinarian?) and keeping a short running list not only saves times, it allows for the simplification of errands and prevents duplicate efforts or last minute trips to the store.
20) Fine tune your sense of humor. Remember, even a bad sense of humor is better than none at all. So go ahead, laugh at that knock knock joke. But laugh.
19) Do everything, and that includes the items on this list, in moderation. Don’t attempt to do all 25 of these right away…strive for one a day!
18) Smile at complete strangers, and wish them a hearty “Hi there, hope you have a great day!” Just imagine how great you will feel when someone else uses this technique on you!
17) At the grocery store, instead of treating yourself to a candy bar, treat yourself to a flower or even a small bouquet.
16) Keep a journal, and every day, write down at least one positive thing that happened to you. If you can also write down one positive thing that someone else did for you, or said to you, so much the better- give yourself duplicate stress-reduction points for the day!
15) Keep things, including your posessions and your body, in their best possible working order. When you schedule your automobile inspection, think about the last time you had your teeth cleaned, and schedule an appointment for that as well. (Just not on the same day)
14) Do everything possible to remove clutter and unecessary waste from your life. Print out a copy of this and hang it on the fridge, but everything else should go!
13) Breathe slowly and deeply, from your diaphragm, feeling the air and the tension slowly leave your body.
12) Learn at least a few phrases in a new language. French, Russian, or Pig Latin- keeping the brain active is a wonderful stress reducer.
11) Try to avoid negative people. Sure if it’s your boss, there is only so much avoidance that is possible, but try to associate more with people who are energetic, filled with a positive outlook and good cheer.
10) Always, always, keep an umbrella in your car.
9) Every day try to be the best that you can be, not neccesarily the best that there is, but the best that YOU can be.
Ride an amusement park ride and scream to your heart’s content- the louder the better.
7) When faced with what seems like an unbearable or insurmountable task, break it into increments- set a timer for 15 minute intervals and then end when the timer goes off.
6) Spend an afternoon incorporating all of your old address books, business cards and post-it-notes into one new address book, and include directions for those seldom-traveled to, but often hard to find, locations.
5) Rent your favorite funny movie and invite over a few friends to watch and laugh together.
4) Avoid coffee, cigarettes and alcohol.
3) Smile at yourself in the mirror every morning right after your brush your teeth.
2) Write a letter ( a real one, not email) to someone that you haven’t seen for quite a long time.
1) Acknowledge that life includes stress- we can’t eliminate it completely, but it doesn’t have to be the defining factor in our lives.
Liked it
Debbie Butler | Nov 5, 2008 | Reply
Good advice for all of us to remember everyday. Thanks.