Another worthy ‘share’ from Jason’s - The Motivation123 Newsletter . I love the comment regarding a pencil
assimilating smiling! Enjoy the article. J Rita
::Seven Secrets to Stress-Free Joy:: Stress, tension, frustration...ever experience
these? Silly question, I know. We all
feel stressed from time to time; it's part of being human. And we certainly
feel frustrated. But as common as these
feelings are, there are simple things we can do to ease them, even erase them
in some cases.
Seven such gems are below.
1.
Create a CD of Your Favorite Songs ~ Listening
to your favorite music not only takes your mind off of your worries but also
reduces blood pressure and a rapid heart beat.
Because music is so closely tied to
memory, listening to music brings to mind happy memories, which in turn affects
the part of the brain that regulates these and other automatic physical
responses.
So make a list of your 15 favorite songs,
visit an online music store to download each one, and create your very own
stress-busting CD.
2.
Control Your Breathing ~ Stressful
situations lead to short and shallow breathing, which in turn leads to an
increased heart rate and creates feelings of tension and anxiety.
To reverse these effects and reduce your
stress, completely empty your lungs with a large sigh. Then, breathe in deeply
from your belly on up, hold your breath, and exhale slowly.
You may want to follow the 4-7-8 rule. (4-second inhale,
7-second hold, 8-second exhale.)
This simple exercise sends better oxygen
content to your cells, improving your health and ridding yourself of the
tension and stress.
3.
Laugh ~ Studies by Dr. Lee Berk and Dr.
Stanley Tan have found that laughter 'lowers blood pressure, reduces stress
hormones, increases muscle flexion, and boosts immune function.'
It also
triggers the release of endorphins, which act as the body's natural painkillers
and produce a sense of well- being.
The lesson? Laugh! Expose yourself to
humor as often as possible through jokes, funny stories, comic strips taped up
in your office, or anything else that makes you laugh.
4.
Make Your List ~ Even
though you may not realize it, there are most likely specific situations that
cause stress time and again. By putting your finger on exactly what they are,
you can begin to fix or avoid the things that constantly add stress and tension
to your life.
Get out a
sheet of paper and a pencil. Begin by thinking back to stressful times and what
specific things caused them. Then, keep the list handy for two weeks and record
the cause of any stress you experience during that period.
After two weeks, create a master list of
stress causers and spend time thinking of specific remedies for each one. The
solution may be as simple as taking a different route to work or getting up
fifteen minutes earlier to handle tasks in the morning.
Allowing only one task into your thoughts
at a time - the one thing you are involved with right now - will improve your
productivity, decrease mental mistakes, and relieve your mind of feeling
overwhelmed as well as your body of feeling physically stressed out and
drained.
In fact, you don't even need to personally
feel happy at the moment to create the internal response of happiness.
Simply holding
a pencil between your teeth can be enough to trick your brain into thinking you
are happy and releasing the corresponding chemicals into your system.
Instead of
being startled every morning, try using natural light to wake you up. Studies
have shown that the light of dawn alerts your body to wrap up your dreams,
raises your body temperature, and begins releasing the hormones you need to
function throughout the day.
So leave the
blinds open tonight and wake up with the sun.
(Afraid of oversleeping? Keep an alarm nearby set to five
minutes after your normal wake time. This way, if the sun doesn't do its job on
day, the alarm will.)
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