No one likes to feel stressed out or impatient. Doing some yoga, or taking a warm bath
or lighting some candles are all wonderful techniques you might have tried before, but we're going to be exploring some different strategies in this video.
Now I, like anybody else, experience stressful and overwhelming
moments, and at times things can feel pretty intense. So I find that
utilizing one or several of the following techniques have helped me to wind down from tense emotional or mental states
and I welcome you to try any of the strategies you feel might help you as well.
I've also got a little treat for you
but I'm gonna wait to the end of the video to share that one so stay tuned. For now let's dive in.
When I'm feeling impatient or stressed, I tend to naturally start working faster
and as a result, become less aware of my inner state and my surroundings. The drive to keep working is strong
but when I sense the tension is starting to peak, I take just two minutes to stop what I'm doing,
close my eyes and tune into the sensations.
I do a quick body scan to become aware of what areas I might be holding the tension.
For example, I might be clenching my jaws or rounding my shoulders.
I then put my hand on the target area to bring awareness to it.
I welcome slower breaths into the belly instead of shallow breaths into the chest, using this moment to silently ground and recenter myself.
We're all familiar with the comfort that warmth provides -
Sunshine, a fireplace, a cozy blanket or a big and comfy sweater
But some of these things are not the most practical items to utilize if we're experiencing stress at work or school.
So one easy way to introduce the calming effects of warmth is a warm beverage.
This could be some mint leaves or a lemon wedge in warm water or my go-to, as you may have noticed by now, is tea.
Now I feel that there's a couple of reasons for the calming effects of a warm beverage. Because the drink is hot by nature,
it encourages us to slow down. We can't drink it quickly or run with a cup of tea in our hands,
so we're prompted to really take our time for that brief moment
we decide to take a sip. Another reason might be that drinking tea or another warm beverage
often becomes part of a person's routine and routines in themselves can help to promote a feeling of calmness.
And it might go without saying and added plus to drinking beverages, whether hot, warm or cold, is that they help to hydrate us
which is always great for our health.
You might have heard that, more than anything, being less stressed comes about from having a positive mindset
but it can be really hard to have a positive mindset when the mountain ahead
looks too overwhelming to tackle. So if you're chasing one of those really huge and amazing goals
that's gonna require a lot of time, then consider the possibility of splitting up the task into several mini goals
so you'll have several causes for celebration.
Giving yourself consistent positive feedback will help you grow
patience, stay encouraged and find more joy in the process of achieving your goals.
I think we've all experienced this at one point or another :
working in the same spot and on the same thing for hours, where the minutes bleed together and the emotions continue to intensify.
When this happens, I like to break the cycle by getting some new perspective and this can be done in a couple of ways.
For example talking to someone or changing the environment.
Often I like to do both simultaneously if it's possible, so for example
I'll ask Robin if he wants to go on a 10-minute walk with me around the block.
Talking to someone about what's on my mind, whether it's related to my work or not, is always appreciated because the person I'm talking to
commonly offers new perspective, insights or reassurance.
The fresh air and change of environment also helps to snap me out of the mundane
activities I've been focused on and this little break helps me return to work feeling refreshed.
Now sometimes our stress and anxiety doesn't come from our workload related to our jobs or our studies
but sometimes it can come from the relentless pressures that we can place on ourselves
and it's easy to just say "well stop demanding so much of yourself"
But it's hard to do this when we're constantly bombarded with pictures and images of people who seem to have it all together.
Sometimes we're engaging in the comparison game without even realizing it and it can have a real negative effect on our mental and emotional state.
So take some time, whether it's a few hours each day
or a day or two each week, to just get off the grid -
logging out of social media and just taking that moment instead to focus on ourselves.
Remember that we control technology. It's not the other way around.
Now I admit this next tip seems ridiculous
but I'll be honest, I try to do this as often as I can, because you know, I always say practice makes perfect.
So instead of trying to practice patience when we're already feeling stressed out,
let's instead try to practice patience deliberately every so often when things are running smoothly
And when we've got some extra time. For example taking the stairs instead of the escalator
or letting someone go ahead of us in the line when we're buying groceries or taking the longer route home if we're walking or biking.
Instead of seeing it as a nuisance we can use this opportunity to shift our mindset
to instead see it as extra time that we've set aside for ourselves, just to enjoy the simple things.
Experiencing stress is an uncomfortable feeling that none of us enjoy, but remember that stress itself is not unnormal or bad.
What's important is how we deal with the stress.
So if you found any of the tips that were shared in this video helpful, go ahead and
give it a thumbs up and of course,
we're all very different when it comes to how we deal with stress so if you have any
stress management techniques of your own to share, I welcome you to do that in the comment section
below. I also mentioned
I have a little treat for you - Pick Up Limes is doing a giveaway of the very cute tea set you saw featured earlier in
this video, so if you'd like to enter to win, see the link in the description box below -
it'll take 30 seconds or less of your time. Alright, thanks a lot for watching, Pick Up Limes signing off.
We'll see you next week