Managing Stress

One of the phrases we hear a lot about: stress management. All fine and well when you're at home relaxing, or working on an exciting project. You get into your comfort zone and nothing bothers you!

A little different story when you're tired after a long day at work, and you're not done yet: there's still food to buy, a meal to prepare, maybe a spouse and children to attend to, and you still haven't decompressed from work yet!

One tip that I read a long time ago was to use the time standing in line to do something else; we've all heard this, but let's take it a little further. I used to stand impatiently, getting irritated at people who all seemed to rudely take their time unloading their cart, or someone behind me bumping me with their cart, when all I wanted to do was get out of the store and go home!

Being a writer as well as an intuitive Spiritual Reader, I often choose to simply watch people and make up stories in my head about them. I look at the way they're dressed, and try to guess what they do for a living. I look at the food they're buying and wonder if they are married or single (that's the result of reading Sherlock Holmes a lot as a child!). If I feel it's appropriate, I'll engage someone in conversation.

The other day, the woman in front of me was reading a magazine as she waited, and the belt was empty. She was so engrossed in what she was reading that she didn't notice right away; when she did, she quickly apologized to me and put the magazine away.

"No problem," I replied. She'd been using her own method for keeping herself occupied while waiting, after all.

The next time you are in a hurry and feeling stressed: stop. Stop and realize that all the people around you are most likely in the same boat you are. They want to go home and eat, to relax with their loved ones, that's why the store is so crowded! Are you going to add to their stress level and yours by exhibiting an irritated attitude? Is it going to improve the situation? Can you make the line move faster by impatiently tapping your foot or making moves to unload your groceries the minute a space becomes clear on the belt? Of course not.

You are being given the gift of time. Consider this: when you walk in the door at home, there most likely will be someone or something demanding your immediate attention, even if it's the bags of perishable groceries needing to be put away. Where else do you get a five-minute break where you must stop and wait? If you've been going all day long, I suggest you use your "wait times" as an enforced breaktime. Fantasize about something pleasant (like a trip to the South of France?). Shut off the cellphone and the PDA. Close your eyes for a few minutes and breathe, giving thanks to the Universe for the ability to buy food for yourself and your family.

By practicing this technique in one small area of your life, you will often find that it causes a ripple affect in other areas of your life. People will unconsciously notice a change in you, and thus, their response to you will be different. Instead of being part of the chaos of busy and hurried stressed out people, you will be the calm center, and people will gravitate toward you.

I've shared one of my former pet peeves and how I learned to deal with it. What areas of your life irritate you the most, and what ways can you think of to change your reaction to these situations?