Seven Key Strategies to Relieve Stress

Seven Key Strategies to Relieve Stress

1. Be clear about your goal–often we do not take time to really define what it is we would like to create

2. Write down what values are important to you, prioritize the list and keep it handy to check your daily activities against

3. Make realistic timetables for goals and tasks; delegate; eliminate/simplify; pad estimated time by 15%

4. Set up a plan to make sure you accomplish what you truly desire

5. Talk with family and friends, enlist their support, and poll them to see how they are willing to help

6. Keep your plan handy; look at it frequently to see if you are spending time doing things that help you toward your goals or if you are getting sidetracked. Being sidetracked is not always bad…it can be good information for you–perhaps your goal is not what you think it is–maybe something deeper is trying to emerge—maybe your ladder is up against the wrong building!

7. Look deeper at why you may be trying to do too much, please others, or remain forever busy and over committed.

In addition to having practical steps to relieving stress and moving toward goals we also need to attend to our deeper selves, our inner lives. When we do we find a source of inspiration, nourishment and support that can turbo charge our external efforts.

Strategies to connect inwardly to build and maintain energy

1. Give yourself some quiet time to relax/meditate, connect more deeply with feelings of peace, love, beauty. This practice builds energy and allows you to remain focused in the moment. It becomes easier to not be carried off by the stress, multiple demands, old patterns, & expectations.

Daily meditation provides the space to develop the qualities of acceptance, inner peace and surrender. Development of these traits enables you to just let things be what they are instead of exerting futile effort trying to force events or people to be what you would prefer. Try this 9 mintue meditation as a start: http://https://karenkallie.com/audio.html

We all have idealistic pictures of things as they “should be”. The external world hardly ever matches inner expectations. We really do know this inwardly but resist, always hoping it can be different. If we learn to accept rather than resist, things have a funny way
of working out and often better than we imagine!

2. Get a massage. Relaxing the body can help the mind find ease.

3. Listen to music that relaxes you, makes you happy, picks up your energy while you are driving or doing mundane tasks. Also spend some time in silence, give yourself a break from constant input. Be aware of €˜aural hygiene€˜. There is a lot of stimulation coming at us constantly. We can monitor this making sure we have more of what feeds our energy rather than depletes it
or jangles our nerves.

4. Decide how you can bring more peace and beauty into your life in small ways. Make a list and implement those ideas. Take charge of your every day environment so that it feeds your senses. Focus on bringing color, texture, aroma into your life. Move things around, change them frequently. As we acclimate, we no longer notice what’s around us.

5. Change small things: the way you drive to work; the side of the bed you get up on; where you have lunch; HOW you have lunch. These changes are small but they help to keep you from going on auto pilot. They will help to keep you more in the present and aware of the aliveness in each moment instead of slipping into numbness.

6. Make it a priority to involve yourself in and enjoy all of your moments. Being present is a gift you can give to your SELF!