Top Ten Habits That Help You Manage Your StressWritten by Linda Dessau
Today we have more stress in our lives than ever before – good stress, bad stress, red stress, blue stress (my little ode to Dr. Seuss). No matter what kind of stress it is, a real crisis or an imagined one, stress is incredibly harmful to our body, mind and soul.Here are my favourite self-care habits for dealing with stress: 1. Get in habit of noticing. Take an inventory of all things that just don't feel right in your life or that you know are causing you stress. For example, when you approach certain people, places or situations do you feel more stress and tension? Once you have your list in place, look at what you can change yourself, and do it. You can also use this list to predict stressful situations before they occur. 2. Get in habit of asking for help. For what you can't change yourself, you need a team. Build a team of experts to handle your list. A coach, at top of list, will help with big picture and will keep you honest about your efforts. Other team members might be a family doctor who listens to you, a financial planner, a massage therapist and an exercise partner. 3. Get in habit of bouncing back. Think of Plan A as your basic self-care plan while stress is under control. Now imagine something happens and you are under stress. Instead of abandoning all self-care because you can't do it all, have a Plan B ready beforehand. 4. Get in habit of relaxing. If you practice relaxation techniques (breathing, meditation, imagery, music) every day, then when stressful situations come up you'll have tools at your fingertips.
| | Three Steps to Achieving Your Health GoalsWritten by Marjorie Geiser, RD
We all have aspects of health we want to improve. It could be as simple as increasing your stretching, or as great as starting an exercise program. Regardless of its scope, there is a reason you’re not doing it. Although focus of this article is on health goals, these steps can also be applied to any aspect of your life, personal or professional. I will walk you through 3 steps that are guaranteed to help you achieve a health goalTo begin, write down a list of all your health goals. Then, pick one. Now write down all your perceived obstacles to achieving that goal. Include them all! Now, everyone can site lack of time, unable to fit it in, it’s something they just don’t like, it’s uncomfortable, etc, etc, but if it’s something you really want to do, I believe anyone can make it happen! What is it that makes one person get up and jog every morning before work, but another person says they ‘can’t’? It has a lot to do with desire and determination. It’s something that’s important enough to them that, regardless of obstacles, they fit it in. Think about what real blocks are to achieving this health goal. Is it something you really want to do, or is it something you should do? If it’s something you should do for your health, then perhaps looking at all various options to at least help you get started would be helpful. Let’s say you’ve tried to go out jogging. You hate it; your feet hurt, our joints hurt, it’s hard, you can’t breathe, weather’s too hot or too cold. There’s nothing about it you like and can’t imagine anything worse than having to actually do it daily!. What else could you do, then? Make a list of all things that you think you would ever like to do, even if they don’t seem even slightly realistic. This has led us to next step, which is finding solutions to your block. So, as with jogger, make that list of all solutions you can think of to your obstacles. If you’re stuck, ask for some outside ideas. This is where a life coach who specializes in health could be an invaluable resource. A coach can give you outside ideas you never considered before. They may also help you see that jogging may be a goal for future, if it’s what you’d really like to do, but instead of starting now, and hating every minute of it, they could help you devise a plan to build up slowly, starting perhaps with walking, making small, manageable goals along way.. If it’s something you really want to do, you’ll take all steps necessary to finally make it happen! A coach will just help you get there, faster and with more success! You’ve now listed various solutions to your obstacle.Now, pick one solution. It has to be a different solution than you have tried in past. There’s a reason you have not accomplished this goal, previously. If you continue to try same solutions, you’ll never overcome block you’ve set up. This is why it’s important to get outside input, such as a coach, for different ideas and different strategies. In fact, studies show that people are much more successful in health goals, such as weight loss, when they worked with a coach who empowered them to do more and achieve more. A coach is an advocate for all your health goals and dreams, but is also there to support you when you fall. Consider this: Even Tiger Woods has a life coach!
|
