Almost a decade ago I was at work having one of those days. I was dealing with demanding and eager students (I work at a college), co-workers who were getting on my nerves, and looking at the piles of paperwork on my desk getting higher and higher was raising my blood pressure. The night before, my ex and I had an argument over visitation of our daughter. I had a shut off notice for my utility bill. OH, and my car inspection was coming up and a major repair had to be done before I could pass.
Sitting at my desk feeling like I was going to explode, I e-mailed by boss and asked if I could see her for a moment. She was very understanding and always seemed to have tidbits of advice for anything and everything. Her favorite was “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” I never understood that one… I digress…
We had a sit down and I spilled everything to her. I rambled on and on and like a perfect social worker, she listened and smiled. My last sentence was, “How do YOU handle everything when life happens?” (because she seemed to do it effortlessly)
This was her advice and I’ve used it ever since.
1st- Make a list of 25 things that make you happy
Here is my list:
1.) Write
2.) Read
3.) Crochet
4.) Watch Will & Grace
5.) Go to Gillie Lake
6.) Go to the movies
7.) Paint
8.) Take a hot shower and get into pajamas
9.) Call a friend
10.) Get near water
11.) Go for a walk
12.) Draw infinity “mazes”
13.) Cross-stitch
14.) Drink a cup of tea
15.) Watch a favorite movie
16.) Write a poem
17.) Write letters to friends and mail them
18.) Journal
19.) Go through inspiration binder
20.) Spend time with friends
21.) Go for a drive
22.) Watch sitcoms
23.) Surf through blogs
24.) Finish something, anything
25.) Show gratitude
It took me hours to write this list and that’s okay.
2nd- On a normal day be sure to do 4 things off of the list
3rd- On a very stressful day when life smacks you full in the face, do 10+ things from the list!!
When I heard this I thought, WAIT A MINUTE! I am too busy for that. She insisted it is imperative to do 4 things a day, at least, that make you happy. It is even more important when you are dealing with a lot of stress. Doubtful, I begrudgingly told her I would try.
Between you and me…inside I thought she was crazy.
Let me tell you, after consciously practicing what I thought was impossible…this works. It is not as hard as it looks. On a normal day I will drink tea, read even if it is only a couple pages, show gratitude, and write.
When I am up to my eyeballs in life I make it a priority to do even more things even if these seem insane to do in the face of what I’m dealing with.
What this does is gives my body a break. Stress releases cortisol into our bodies. Too much cortisol for too long is not healthy. If you continue to deal with stress, with no interruption of good feelings, it breaks the body down. You become exhausted, depressed, and less able to face what is coming at you.
The truth is, life is going to keep coming at a rapid pace. Change is the only constant in our lives. It is up to us to learn strategies to cope and get through it…and still be happy.
Does anyone have any strategies they’d like to share about coping with stress? If you make your list, I’d love to hear some of your 25 things as well.
