What a fantastic week, another trip to Amsterdam followed by a productive Friday and relaxing slip into the weekend.
I am sure it was not the same for everyone though. I listened to the people from Holland, last week, describing their lives.
They all seemed time poor, and stressed because of it, apart from one guy. He had decided that his new hobby was to travel to new places and explore different cultures. In fact we travelled to the airport together and he was on his way to Naples for a long weekend away, having booked it a few months ago.
He was probably the most relaxed delegate on the programme.
Even though the traffic was bad and trains were delayed he didn’t ‘flap’ about missing his flight – my flight was later than his and I was worried!
So why is it that some people seem to take things in their stride while all around is falling apart?
We all have the ability to deal with stress and can be resilient at certain things, but when it all builds up there needs to be a release somewhere. Some people use exercise, others use music, the skill is choosing a release that doesn’t have a negative impact on yourself or others.
I like to have a beer which chills me out (to a certain point) and other times it doesn’t help, in fact it can make things worse! So it is possible to have a few coping mechanisms / strategies in your ‘tool bag’ just in case you get a side swipe or curve ball.
As you will know, we do need some stress / tension, in our lives, as it helps us to perform better in certain environments. How hard would you work if you didn’t have targets or deadlines?
The key is to recognise how much you can handle and what you need to do if it starts to build up
Here are a couple of recommendations:
- Going for a walk, in the woods, is supposed to have a therapeutic affect due to the properties of the trees being released into the atmosphere.
- Reading a book can calm the nerves and lower blood pressure (depending on the book I suppose!)
- Attending Yoga or a relaxation class.
- Going swimming and then having a sauna and spa session, works really well for some.
- Cooking a nice meal or getting involved with a hobby / pastime that you are passionate about.
- Talking things through with a supportive friend – very often we hide stress and pretend to be okay, for fear of looking weak.
‘Stress free’ sounds perfect, but, boredom can also kill your mind!
Back to that theory of balance and moderation in most things. What do you need more of / less of?