Merry Stressful Christmas!

I take a deep breath as I begin to write today as I am tired and overwhelmed by Christmas rush and busy-ness.
How are you doing?
Are you looking forward to a break? Are you the host that feels the pressure to make it all perfect? Are you feeling money pressures? The loss of someone you love? Distance from family or too close to family & wanting to escape the craziness?!
Most likely you are not feeling peaceful and prepared and with everything in order but I may be wrong!!!
And you know what?
Its all OK.
I recently heard a TED Talk about making stress your friend. The speaker, a psychologist, who for decades had been advising people to take time out, to breathe, to relinquish some responsibilities in order to bring their life back into balance, to take up yoga, meditation etc. etc. had read new data on stress which said its not so bad for you afterall!!
Its the BELIEF that its bad for you that has a detrimental effect!!! A bit like money being the root of all evil....in fact its the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil.
So time to change our beliefs again!!
Affirm, I thrive on stress, it motivates me, it helps me achieve a great deal, it allows me to connect with others and ask for help. I am a dynamo, I am dynamic, full of energy and courage, all is well in my crazy world. I love the energy of Christmas. I dive in and take part in the festivities with gusto! Life is good!
Dont knock it till you've tried it!!!
Thats what Im going to do. Im off to a party tonight after 5 hours sleep and a full day of work. I choose to see the stress response of my body as helpful, as giving me courage, I can trust my body, knowing that stress keeps my heart be strong and my body helps me rise to any challenge.
Have a wonderful Christmas week everybody!

To read the transcript of the TED talk go here
http://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend/transcript?language=en

Overwhealm

“There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.”
Denis Waitley, American Author



These days life can get overwhelming. Some of our busyness and pressure is external to us as demands of the life we have chosen. And a lot of it is self imposed!





I had one of those days yesterday when everything seemed to be against me. Yet when I slowed down and remembered to be present, take a breath, I realized, if I stopped spinning all these plates the consequences would not be life shattering. Some people may not be happy that I dont show up or complete a task on time but I would be healthier. You know the root cause of the most common diseases in our society is stress.

Yes our modern pace of life is accelerated but we still have the greatest power there is for achieving peace and health and that is CHOICE.

Really - its even more powerful than love because you first have to choose to be loving. In choosing to love myself I had to let go of some things from my day to alieviate the time pressure I was imposing on myself. Not everything got done, there were consequences but I evaluated the quality of my day and I felt it was a day lived better because of the choices I made.

I value the quality of my life and my health. I may not be here next week or next year when I had planned to relax and enjoy life. I have to begin today to live well and in balance.

I used to incorporate one fun thing to do into each day and I had let that slip. It's time to begin again. Today I chose to meet new people at a local park and do a free Chi Kung session. There are probably some similar free activities going on in your area too. If not I find a walk can elevate my thoughts and take me out of my busy head.

What works for you? I'm open to suggestions.


“Our choices in life are made according to our sense of our own worth”
Kaylan Pickford