December is a busy month both personally and professionally. The holiday expectations added to the fray, so I want to encourage you to enjoy the Season and if things start to feel stressful, following these simple tips.
- Breathe. Inhale deeply from your diaphragm. Hold your breath and count to four, filling your belly and chest. Then slowly exhale to a count of four. Repeat this a few times. This relaxes your entire system.
- Listen to your body. What are your muscles, stomach, joints, neck, shoulders, back, and feet telling you? To take a break? Get a massage? Rest? Seek medical help?
- Trust your intuition. Get real about how much you can take on. You are not a machine. You are human, and there are certain limitations that accompany your current form.
- Visualize a calming scene. Perhaps you love lying on a beach or hiking in the mountains. Or maybe you enjoy looking up at the beautiful blue sky. Close your eyes and imagine your favorite scene. Do this for three to five minutes.
- Focus on a meaningful activity. File papers. Write the outline for a report. Phone a friend. Fold laundry. Focused attention quiets the mind.
- Have some fun. Schedule the time to go to a movie, play a game with your kids, attend a concert, host a party. Or just laugh. Don’t feel guilty about occasionally immersing yourself in things that take you out of your very busy, crowded head.
Obsessing about your stress is the worst thing you can do. It’s a vicious cycle that won’t end unless you to choose to make a change. Napoleon Hill says “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.”
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