1.
Go to sleep early
enough that you can awaken without an alarm clock. Sufficient sleep is KEY to health, wellness and managing stress well! It’s the best medicine to boost your resiliency.
2.
Remember that
stress is a normal condition that YOU are responsible for managing well
3.
6 or 8 times daily
use a deep breath (or two) to put a semicolon (or period) in the outrageous,
chaotic, run-on sentence that is your stream of consciousness. This is
especially helpful before meals and before meeting someone.
4.
Stand up and stretch frequently through the day
5.
Prepare for the next
day before you get into bed (e.g. make your lists)
6.
Get to work
earlier than you need too, so you’ll start the day relaxed
7.
Exercise or
play sports most days
8.
Quit trying to fix
other people; they are the way they are for millions of reasons. They’re good enough.
9.
Plant this seed
for thought: do you suffer from 'emotional obesity'? Do you need to 'lighten up'? Is there some emotional
baggage or habit it's time to discard?
10.
Be responsible for
your own thoughts and feelings; the ONLY thing we can control is what goes on
in our minds and hearts in the next few moments. Don’t blame others so often.
11.
Imagine being in
your favorite place, with all your
senses
12.
When taking your
daily vitamin and fish oil capsule, give your ego daily doses of humility and acceptance. . . to calm down it's pernicious propensity to be
inflated with self-importance and judgmental of others.
13.
Set appointments for
things you want to do that nourish you
14.
Think of something
you’ve been wanting to do, and do it today or tomorrow
15.
Don't rely on your
memory ... write things down
16.
Say "no"
more often to things that don’t nourish you.
Cut out unnecessary things (e.g. TV)
17.
Care for your mind
as well as your inbox; unclutter it by trashing 'brain spam' daily
18.
Make a list of
priorities in your life, so that important things don’t get crowded out
19.
If you can't find
the time for all the activities that are important to you, maybe you are trying
to do too much. Make a list of what you
do during the day and how much each activity takes. Then cut back.
20.
Avoid negative
people, or decide to practice tolerance
with them
21.
Anticipate your
needs and share them with your partner
22.
Ask for help with
the jobs you dislike
23.
Break large tasks
into bite size portions
24.
Look at problems
as challenges, and opportunities for growth; Look for a silver lining in
difficult situations. Look at challenges differently. They’re fascinating, complicated, and an
opportunity to be creative.
25.
Choose to unclutter
your life; a lot of stuff isn’t as
important as you think
26.
Pet a dog or cat with
kindness in your heart
27.
Be humble and laugh about the foolish idea
that you should know all the answers
28.
Say something kind
to someone, especially your partner
29.
Plant this seed
for thought: we magnify our troubles and dissatisfactions by focusing on them
so much. In the big picture, they're
much smaller than we make them. Are you
your own worst enemy?
30.
Walk in the rain
and pay attention to the sounds
31.
Schedule play time
into every day
32.
Take a bubble bath
or hot tub bath
33.
Believe in
yourself ; you have a lot of strengths
34.
Stop saying
negative things to yourself ; everyone has weaknesses, but you are good enough
35.
Develop your sense
of humor and watch comedians and funny movies more often
36.
Stop thinking
tomorrow will be a better today; the only time to live is now, so live well now
37.
Once a day nourish and exercise your humility
by reflecting on how small we are.
Attempt to comprehend that behind a grain of sand, held at arms length,
there are about 3000 distant galaxies, up to 13 billion light years away.
38.
set goals for
yourself that are reasonable
39.
Look up at the
stars and be grateful for the
mysterious grace that keeps it all going
40.
Play an instrument
or a drum
41.
Sing a song
42.
Listen to a
symphony
43.
Listen to soft
music with mindfulness (i.e. by being in the now with the sensations, without
thinking about it much)
44.
Dance –by
yourself or with a partner
45.
Watch a dance
performance
46.
Read a good book
47.
Play a video or
computer game . . . and laugh at yourself if your score isn’t so hot
48.
Decide to stop doing
a bad habit
49.
Buy yourself, or
someone else, a flower
50.
Get a massage, or give one . . . with a quiet
mind attending only to sensations, not thoughts
51.
Make love more
often
52.
Learn to meet your
own needs more often (e.g. going for a walk, massaging your feet, or
masturbation)
53.
Take time to smell
and appreciate the flowers; enjoy the journey of life
54.
Appreciate and
acknowledge the support of others
55.
Sometimes decide
to try on cheerfulness and optimism
56.
Don’t pay too much attention to your appearance or
that of others.
57.
Competing with
others, whether in accomplishments, appearance, or possessions, is an avoidable
source of stress. While it may seem easy to say you should be satisfied with
what you have, it's the truth. Stress from jealousy is self-inflicted.
58.
Strive for
Excellence NOT perfection. But
remember, most things are “good enough”
as they are
59.
Look at a work of
art, or make one
60.
Eat slowly and only
while seated . . .and enjoy the sensations in your mouth, so you won’t overeat
61.
Plant a tree, bush
or flower
62.
Feed the birds, or
watch them and marvel at their beauty
63.
Decide to practice
grace under pressure. Don’t freak out; keep
relaxed, cool and confident
64.
Try to have a plan
"B" in case plan “A” doesn’t work; remember, you always have options
65.
Decide to be a
better listener; keep your own mind quiet, without rehearsing your response
66.
Know and accept your
limitations and let others know them, too
67.
Go on a walk or picnic
in a park . . . alone or with a friend
or a pet
68.
Put air freshener
in your car and aromatherapy oils,
or incense, in your bedroom (e.g. lavender)
69.
Watch a movie and
eat popcorn
70.
Write a note to a
far away friend
71.
Look at old photos
72.
Go to a ball game
and cheer loudly
73.
Remember, sometimes it's okay to do nothing.
74.
Cook a meal and enjoy
it slowly by candlelight, with wine
75.
Decide to have unconditional kindness and appreciation
of your lover- and show them that you do
76.
Write ideas,
concerns or joys in a journal
77.
Allow yourself to
be supported by a network of people, places and things
78.
Talk less and
listen more
79.
Decide to give
others complements, especially your
partner and best friends
80.
Do yoga postures with a relaxed mind that
is ‘in the now’
81.
Do yoga breathing
(e.g. inhale thru one nostil to the count of 1,2,3; then close both on counts 4 and 5; then count
6,7,8,9 while exhaling through the other nostril; then reverse, and repeat many
times)
82.
Do the Tai Chi form, or a Tai Chi walk . . .
with slow, relaxed, balanced, graceful movements and a relaxed mind
83.
To quiet junky
thinking, silently repeat a mantram
phrase (e.g. “123” on inhaling, and “4567”on exhaling)
84.
When you’re
impatient, repeat the mantram phrase, “I
will wait * with peace of mind”
85.
When your anger is
inappropriate, repeat the mantram phrase, “I
will chill * when I’m upset”
86.
When you catch
yourself whining, repeat the mantram phrase, “I have much * to be grateful for”
87.
When worries are
excessive, repeat the mantram phrase, “I’ll have faith * things will be OK”
88.
If you feel stress
(or anything else) is getting the better of you, seek professional help -- a
doctor or therapist. Early signs of excess stress are loss of a sense of
well-being and reluctance to get up in the morning to face another day. There’s an old Chinese maxim, “If you don’t
change your course, you’re likely to end up where you’re headed.”
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