I'm Obsessed with Stress

"Stress is caused by being "here" but wanting to be "there" or being in the present but wanting to be in the future."

Eckhart Tolle

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It's in the news, board rooms, schools, Instagram posts, AND on our faces...STRESS is the topic of the day. I analyze my own stress, want to help others manage their stress, read about it and study it. It's exhausting!

But is stress ever a good thing? Well, ya, it sure is, we'd be crazy to think otherwise. Try winning a race or meeting a deadline or giving a speech without the 'pumping up' benefits of stress hormones. 

Imagine a runner on the starting blocks of a big race. Now imagine if, in that instant, she sees the finish line, as something to get to, SEPARATE from herself, struggling toward the FUTURE. Got it? Okay now imagine that, instead, she runs the race and heads to the finish line while staying in the moment, WITH herself, happening NOW.

Go ahead and read that again, I had to. See the difference? It's subtle.  The second option is in the PRESENT MOMENT which means she's not worrying about the finish line existing in her future. Her goal is still clear but it's HOW she gets there that's changed.

How much of our day involves the split between the present and the future? We still have dreams and aspirations and goals, so how do we get to our finish line and set new ones without creating more stressful suffering? Eckhart Tolle says, in his book The Power of Now, that 'living with this inner split is insane'.

It's true that goals help us to move forward and take action and enjoy life BUT we need to observe our thoughts just to check in to see if we're living in the destructive, stressful state of "I'LL BE HAPPY WHEN xyz HAPPENS." Observing our thoughts when the stress is too much may reveal this split, and just by observing, we can release some stress.

This is what Eckhart Tolle must be talking about when he says, "Stress is caused by being "here" but wanting to be "there" or being in the present but wanting to be in the future."

In all honesty sometimes I don't even want to set goals, I seem to feel like they're so big and so final. What I like to do is aim for is having forward momentum and growth.  Maybe it's the same thing as a goal? I don't know.

So, let's go back to our runner for a moment. She has a lot to teach us. She's trained for the race, built up stress, and then 'BAM!', the starter pistol goes off, she explodes into a run and what's happening? 

She's spending her stress. Using it up!!!

Whaaat? 

Look out, this is big! The runner is releasing her stress but do we do the same? Are we addicted to stress without even knowing it or is our sense of 'normal' stress actually a little out of wack or too much? Let's practise releasing our stress. How? Here's a short list:

• notice our limiting or 'split' thoughts
• play hard, exercise
• laugh, sing, dance
• create
• rest
• find stillness with meditation (grab your simple and fast tip sheet here)
• offer gratitude

Try to be aware and check in to see if the stress of buzzing from one task to the next is over fueling your day and never giving you time to recharge or calm down. I know I've been there. I remember that I used to happily identify with the label 'Type A' personality, as I lived my life, but I was sick a-lot and seldom found stillness. Back then, I used to think that I would lose a part of myself in the stillness. Well, I didn't lose myself, and stillness, meditation, laughter and, enjoying life right HERE, brings me back every time. 

You can start or continue meditation practise with my printable cheat sheet HERE.

"Another step on your path." from Michele

calm your thought ocean

If the ocean surface is a metaphor for our swirling thoughts and busy mind then it's easy to understand that deep below the surface, where the water is still, there is clarity and peace.

How do you calm your THOUGHT OCEAN to get to deeper insights and knowing?
Worst case scenario thoughts. Negative thoughts. Positive thoughts. Worry thoughts. Predictive thoughts. Repetitive thoughts. Intuitive thoughts. Thoughts, thoughts, thoughts!

My meditation practise doesn't let me down, it helps to calm those surface waters so I have clarity and have direct access to deeper aspects of myself. The more I practise, just like the more I do bicep curls, my CONCENTRATION MUSCLE gets stronger and my ocean of thoughts calms down.
 

3 Step Energy Re-set

Is your 'to-do' list sabotaging your life and got you on AUTO-PILOT? No time to try something new and create your dreams? Be aware that in every moment of the day, we are CHOOSING where our attention and energy goes. Yes, we all have certain responsibilities that can't be avoided but look inward to see if there's a pattern to your day or week that could be adjusted. When our energy is scattered and LEAKING in too many directions, it's really hard to create something new.
Try the 3 steps below for 1 week, then at the end of the week take inventory of where your 'energy leaks' might reside (hint: see the negative and indifferent lists-step 2 below). See if your attention can shift in a way that allows you to retain more energy that you can GROW with. 

3 Step Energy Reset: (Total time:10 min)
1. Where does your energy go? At the end of the day (or throughout the day) notice or list every action/task that you finished, worked on or started.
2. Record how you feel after the day has ended. Keep it simple: '+' for positive feeling; '-' for negative feeling; and 'x' for indifferent.
3. Re-charge with stillness. Start with a 5 minute meditation. Anytime. Anywhere. Use a meditation app, a favourite mantra or visualization or ...

Try this simple breathing technique:
-Set your watch or timer for 5 minutes.
-Sitting comfortably upright, close your eyes and feel the air on the tip of your nose and place your attention on it as you inhale and watch it move slowly and gently into your lungs and belly.
-Notice the gap of stillness as your breath turns and then moves back out your nose with your exhale.
-Repeat until your timer rings.
Don't worry about the thoughts that will probably creep in during your meditation, just notice them and return your attention back to your breath.
This 'stillness of BEING' is where the sweet spot of rest, renewal, and re-connection to yourself occur and this will open the door to sparks of creation (ideas, positive emotions, concepts...).

One Simple Step to Find Balance in Life

Try standing on one leg. Go ahead and hold on to the wall for support. Tune in to the tiny, subtle adjustments that work automatically to maintain your upright posture. Concentrate and you'll feel the aliveness of the continuous adjustments, the wobble.  (Eckhart Tolle would call this, non-judgmental feeling of aliveness, your presence.)

Strive to find your balance: work/play, thinking/feeling, laughing/crying, action/stillness...Check in daily, weekly or annually to see if you're striving for balancing experiences. Is there too much of one thing and not enough of something else?

Wobbling is part of the journey that reminds us to continue to aim for balance. By paying attention, and accepting life's wobbles and adjustments, we can notice when we get stuck in one place for too long and then we can begin to make changes.  

                                    
Having fun with my wobble, hope you are too!