Are you among the 95% of the population living under stress? Then, this is a ‘MUST’ read! The following post was written by the dynamic Patricia Grace Tomasi, as part of a Guest Blogging circle created by the York Region Small Business Club. The YRSBiz helps small businesses in York Region connect. Their goal is to provide free or low-cost opportunities for local businesses to connect and engage with each other and ultimately to help small businesses succeed.
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10 ways to overcome stress
1. Meditation
This is by the far the best way to overcome stress. Find five minutes out of your day to sit still, close your eyes, tune out the world, and tune in. It may be difficult at first because we’re used to running a million thoughts in our head, but like anything, it takes practice, so give it a chance and soon you’ll become a much a calmer person. You can also use tools to enhance your meditation experience such as music, candles, or incense. I can definitely help you begin a meditation practice.
2. Self Care
In order to love others, you must love yourself first – that means treating yourself as you would your most amazing guest. Be a wonderful host to yourself, pamper yourself, take yourself out on dates, do things that make you happy – you must nourish your self in order to be the kind, loving, and wonderful person you want to be towards others. I love this quote by Paolo Coelho, author of The Alchemist and Aleph: “Sacrifice is not a virtue and joy is not a sin.”
3. Eat well
What we put in our bodies has a direct correlation with how we feel emotionally. If you’re eating a diet high in salt, sugar, and saturated fat, you’re only compounding your stress. Eat as clean as you can – fruits, veggies, and lots of clean water. Believe me, I know it’s hard – you’ve just gotta do it, fight your resistance – you’ll feel so much better in a very short time. And that includes taking high quality vitamins and supplements of which I recommend Usana, the highest ranked nutritional supplement company in the world partnered with Dr. Oz. Feel free to email me for more info and a 20% discount on all their products: outofthecosmiccloset@gmail.com
4. Exercise
It’s a no brainer – you’ve heard this time and time again – eat well, exercise… but we need a reminder because it’s the truth. If you don’t have time, just try to incorporate as much movement as you can into your day – take the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to the store, jog while watching TV, go out and pick all those dandelions! I’m a huge fan of yoga and I am also a yoga instructor so that’s my favourite type of exercise to do. Find something that gets you moving – take a salsa class if that’s what you like – just move.
5. Become self aware
If you really want to combat stress, you need to get to the source of it. There’s a great Tibetan belief that any time you encounter a difficult person or situation, you should look upon it as a great jewel and gift to you. Your stress is there to teach you something about yourself that needs changing. Where is the stress coming from? Try to dig through the layers by asking yourself “why is this so?” every time you think you’ve come up with the reason. Be willing to shine a light and bring awareness to what’s really going on. Gloria Steinem once said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” Hahaha, I love that quote and it’s so true. Be willing to work on yourself, evolve, and above all, be gentle with yourself in the process.
6. Be open to Divine guidance
Once you’re willing to get to the root of your troubles, be open to the signs around you, funny coincidences, repeated phrases or numbers – no matter what you believe, whether this is divine guidance for you or not, there could be a message in the sign if you’re willing to look at it a little closer.
7. Rediscover your passions
What did you like to do as a child? Did you like to draw? Perform? Bake? Or were you the little entrepreneur with the lemonade stand at the end of your driveway? In order for us to be truly happy, we need to find and rediscover our true passions and then start living them. This doesn’t mean you have to change your whole life around. It just means that if you enjoyed dancing, you could enroll in lessons once a week, or if you always wanted to be an actress, why not try out for a local community theatre play?
8. “Surround yourself with people who only lift you higher” – Oprah
This is so true but may not be achievable at the beginning of your quest to undue your stress, unless you’re super courageous, but if you’re like me, it takes time first to recognize who is actually bringing you down, why you’ve chosen to be around these people to begin with, and then what to do about it. Just know that the sooner you start to notice this, the quicker the universe already puts the wheels in motion to bring new people into your life that will definitely only lift you higher.
9. Find a cause
Find a cause that motivates you to help make a change in the world. Perhaps there is a charity which you always felt yourself drawn to or may have even volunteered for in the past. Make a commitment to devote some of your time to a worthy cause and give back to the community.
10. Relax, it’s only life.
Don’t take things so seriously. Laugh as much as you can! Play! When we’re adults, sometimes we forget to play and or we think we shouldn’t be wasting time on play when the opposite is true – PLAY PLAY PLAY! That’s where our true joy stems from, the most innocent part of who we are, our inner child that’s so excited about life and all its blessings!
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Remember, you are not ordinary, you are divinely unique.
You are WOW (Wonderful One-of-a-kind Woman)!
w(H)olistically Yours,
- Relationship lessons learned from being a Dog Owner (mytailwaggersblog.wordpress.com)
- How to Relieve Stress (answers.com)
- Monday Meditation: No Stress (chiclittleblackdress.wordpress.com)
- 10 Tips to Help You De-Stress (everydayhealth.com)
- 10 ways to overcome stress at work (simplysupplementsblog.com)
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