In today's world - and quite possibly every other one - stress is inevitable. But not just every now and again; it seems as though it is always an appropriate time to be riddled with anxiety and fret. We have been told that this is simply the way of life, and we had better accept it/not fight it or - you guessed it - we'll be even more stressed out. I feel as though this is not 100% accurate.
Naturally, there are some of us who just appear to be more uptight more often; these incredibly shake-able individuals, it seems, are doomed to a life of anxiety. I am not confidant enough in my life-coaching abilities to say whether or not this is true. What I will say is: although I may not stress as easily over the typical things the masses do, I do stress out quite a bit over quite a few things that the masses may find to be of the mundane persuasion. Does this mean I have phobias? Am I destined to be the real-life version of Bill Murray in What About Bob?? Of course I am not trained in these topics, and so cannot be sure, although it seems as if I am starting to get a handle on it. So what is it, have I taken Dr. Leo Marvin's advice? Am I implementing the latest version of Baby Steps? In a way, yes.
I have made the conscious decision to take things a little more easily, to not expect too much of myself. To make and keep goals and ambitions, while keeping things as realistic as possible. Baby steps down the stairs.
These things are sometimes easier said than done, and naturally there are extraneous circumstances, but if you just nail down a few things, this smoothness will more often than not be your end result.
Don't double-book yourself; whatever this means to you, just try not to do it. If you get stressed easily when you make plans after work because you are worried you might have to stay late, or maybe the traffic will be a nightmare when you are released, or maybe you get very tired during work (to the point where you consistently just need to go straight home and sleep immediately), just don't rely on making plans after work. This will not only save your evening, it will also save your day at work.
Be realistic; I used to think that if someone called you "ambitious", it was meant as a compliment. In reality, being ambitious could be synonymous with taking on way too much - and in doing so, it is likely that you be unable to meet deadlines and/or not be able to give 100% on anything. As for scheduling, if you have never successfully gotten from your home to the destination in question in 20 minutes, don't plan to be there in 20 minutes. If ever in doubt? Just leave your starting point early. Even just a few minutes could make a huge difference. You will have a calmer commute and not fret so much over the traffic lights/traffic/etc... and maybe you'll just be super early to the hangout destination.
Be prepared/Be resourceful; it is my belief that everyone is at least one of these two. I try to be both as much as possible. Let's say that you do leave ten minutes early and arrive ten minutes (or more) early to your destination. If you are prepared? You will have a charged phone, great book, your laptop, favorite CD, some paperwork... something to occupy your mind and time as you await your pal. If you're resourceful? You will figure out a new article/game to check out on your phone, think of fun things to do/discuss with the person you are meeting with, better collect yourself, etc.
Create/Keep Healthy Surroundings; every person is essentially a human myna bird. The minute you surround yourself with negative people, negative music, negative media, you create a negative self. Don't let this happen to you (it is a slippery slope). Be proactive about spending your time with the people you love the most and make you feel the best. Listen to music that propels you into positivity. Even something as seemingly small as what you eat can make an enormous impact. Everything will not always be perfect, but the more things you make an effort to keep harmonious, the more harmonious you will be.
It it likely stressers will find you throughout your day-to-day, and such things simply cannot be helped. So why wouldn't you give your best efforts to start your day as stress-free as possible and control what you can in order to keep it that way?
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