Reminders for a Busy Day

“Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.”

Hans Selye

“Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it's the time when they most need to think.”

William J. Clinton

“To be a champion, you have to learn to handle stress and pressure. But if you've prepared mentally and physically, you don't have to worry.”

Harvey Mackay

Reminders for a busy day:

1.     Stress is a result of what’s going on in my mind, not in my calendar.

2.     Breathe.  Literally.  Breathe.  As you breathe in and out, slowly, you will allow tension to leave your body as oxygen gets into your blood cells.  You will release the tension in your muscles.  Really.  Breathe.

3.     Smile.  This is another way of allowing oxygen into your body.  It also tells your mind that things are not as bad as you are imagining.

4.     Tell yourself that if there were an actual emergency and someone needed you, you would be able to do what you needed to do calmly and in the right order.  Today’s to-do list is not an emergency.  It’s just long.

5.     Tell yourself that you’re not really worried about getting the tasks done.  What is worrying you is the awful future you are imagining if you don’t get the tasks done.  Remind yourself that all futures are imaginary until and unless they happen.  Then, of course, they aren’t the future anymore, but the present and you can handle the present.

6.     Eat.

7.     Make a list of everything you have to do.  Write it down.  This is half the battle right here.  The other half is when you get to cross off each item as you complete it.

8.     Be patient. With others and with yourself. 

9.     Be aware at every moment what your body and mind are doing.  If you are feeling tension or anger, acknowledge it and breathe.

10.  Don’t worry if the breathing doesn’t get immediate results.  Just keep doing it.  You’ll feel the difference soon enough.

11.  Pray about your day.  Offer your day to God and ask Him to guide each step.

12.  Ask for prayer. 

13.  Ask for help.

14.  Take a few moments to practice tapping if you know how to do this. 

15.  Drink a lot of water.  A lot.

16.  Promise yourself a treat or a few treats as you get things done.

17.  Be aware when you are allowing distractions to keep you from your tasks.

18.  Enjoy the things you “have to” do.  If you were in prison or in a hospital, you would wish for a “normal” life in which you’d be able to do these things. 

19.  Remember that there are really very few things in life you “have to” do.  Everything you are doing is your choice.  In fact, your present life, good and bad, is largely the result of your choices, good and bad.  If you don’t like things as they are, make different choices.  Then accept the rewards and consequences of your choices without fanfare or complaints.

20.  If you really feel that you have no choice and that you can’t change things, then change your view of things. 

21.  Practice gratitude.  If you can read this, then you aren’t blind.  That alone is something to be grateful for.  It also means you know how to use a computer.  That is something else to be grateful for.  It also means you are intelligent.  That is something else to be grateful for.  It also means you can use your mind and your physical abilities to change things.  That is something else to be grateful for.  Get it?  I could do this all day.

22.  Have fun.  Make it a game.  How quickly and well can you get things done?  Give yourself 10 points for each task done.  Deduct points for impatience, irritability, or negativity.

23.  Get Started and Keep Going.  Action is one of the best remedies for stress relief.

24.  If the day is good or bad is largely up to you.