20 PROVEN STRESS REDUCERS
Get up 15
minutes earlier in the morning. The inevitable morning mishaps will be less
stressful.
Don't rely
on your memory. Write down appointment times, when to pick up the dry
cleaning, when library books are due etc. ("The palest ink is better than
the most retentive memory") - An old Chinese proverb.
Procrastination is stressful. Whatever you want to do tomorrow, do today,
whatever you want to do today, do it now.
Plan ahead.
Don't let the petrol tank get below one-quarter full, keep a well stocked
'emergency shelf' of home staples, don't wait until you're down to your last
postage stamp to buy more etc.
Be prepared
to wait. A mantra can make a wait in post office line almost pleasant.
Don't put up
with something that doesn't work correctly. If your alarm clock, wallet,
shoe laces, windscreen wipers - whatever - are a constant aggravation, get
them fixed or get new ones.
Pollyanna-Power! For every one thing that goes wrong, there are probably 10
or 50 or 100 blessings. Count `em.
Turn "needs"
into preferences. Our basic physical needs translate into food, water and
keeping warm. Everything else is a preference. Don't get attached to
preferences.
Simplify,
simplify, simplify!
Make friends
with non-worriers. Nothing can get you into the habit of worrying faster
than associating with chronic worrywarts.
Create order
out of chaos. Organise your home and workspace so that you always know
exactly where things are. Put things away where they belong and you won't
have to go through the stress of losing things.
Add an ounce
of love to everything you do.
Become more
flexible. Some things are not worth doing perfectly and some issues are
good to compromise upon.
Eliminate
destructive self-talk. "I'm too old to...." "I'm too fat to..." etc. etc.
Worry about
the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves. That's another way
of saying take care of the toadies as best you can and the yesterdays and
tomorrows will take care of themselves.
Do one thing
at a time. When you are with someone, be with that person and with no one
or nothing else. When you are busy with a project, concentrate on doing
that project and forget about everything else you have to do.
If an
especially "unpleasant" task faces you, do it early in the day and get it
over with. Then the rest of your day will be free of anxiety.
Learn to
delegate responsibility to capable others.
Forget about
counting to 10. Count to 1000 before doing something or saying anything
that could make matters worse.