Finding Cherries in a World That Seems Like the Pits: Part 3
Posted on July 06, 2017 by Jennifer Robinson, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
In part 3 of this series I talk about how to keep your stress levels down even when the world around you is going a little crazy:
OUR CRAZY MIXED-UP WORLD
I’ll be honest with you. This one is tough for me sometimes. One of the things I’m grateful for in respect to having given-up my academic career is that I don’t have to constantly stay aware of everything that’s going on in politics (my former career was as a lecturer in political science and legal sociology). That said, I still think it’s important to be an informed citizen, so I do keep up on most current events. And yes, that is really frustrating and sometimes overwhelmingly sad. This past week Congress released a report on the CIA’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” and unfortunately the news and even the comedians have been discussing these techniques in sometimes grotesque details. This type of thing is hard for me to stomach. For you, it might be something else in the news that gets your stress level up. There are some really good techniques for keeping these things in perspective though. Here are a few to try:~ Try to follow your viewing, reading, or listening to negative news with some positive news. There are actually lots of really cool things going on in the world today. There are lots of good people doing good things out there! Okay, I admit sometimes I just go to Buzzfeed and look at the funny cat videos :/ But there are some really good “Good News” sites out there!! Just google “good news stories” and you’ll find tons of websites that cover only uplifting and positive news stories. Try to find some that you like. One of my favs is Huffingtonpost.com/good-news.
~ Make sure you don’t go to bed after having just watched negative news. I’m a little frustrated with John Stewart and Stephen Colbert because they’re my nightly viewing before sleep. But this week, because of the CIA torture report stuff, I’ve had to turn them off. Sheesh guys, I’m just not seeing the humor in this night after night… Try to read a fun book or watch a funny show or have an affirming conversation with your partner before you lay your head down. And if you do lay down and find your mind full of stressful or disturbing images, try to bring in happy and uplifting images instead. I was telling one of my friends the other day how her posts on Facebook helped me get some disturbing images out of my mind. She posts pictures of the animals from the farm animal rescue she runs and pictures of her two sweet boys having fun. This weekend she posted pictures of her boys delivering toys to a toy drive in Los Angeles for homeless children. Having those images to concentrate on helped me to calm my mind and drift off to sleep.
~ Be in a place of gratitude. Sometimes this is easier said than done. But even if you’re feeling really down and overwhelmed, I bet you can find something to be grateful for. Maybe it’s the roof over your head. Maybe it’s the green grass. Maybe it’s a flower growing between the cracks of a sidewalk. Maybe, it’s merely your two feet on the ground. Finding even something small to be grateful for will raise your happy hormones and help you to feel better one little bit at a time.
On that note, I am truly grateful for all those who have loved and supported me in my business and my life over these past few years! And I am grateful for those of you post and respond to my blogs. The blogs truly are meant to be conversation starters AND HOPEFULLY they will help us to create a community dedicated to supporting one-another in health, happiness and peaceful living.
What tips and strategies do you have to share with us for finding the cherries among the pits?
