If you feel you don’t have time for stress management activities, you are not alone. It can be frustrating to hear suggestions that are impossible to add to a busy life. Here is some practical advice on how to build some stress relief into your daily routine. Even if you only practice one item from this list, you may be surprised at the difference it can make.
- Remember to laugh. Thirty to forty laughs a day provides a boost to your immune system. And smile, whether you feel like it or not…you’ll begin to believe yourself.
- Be mindful about your eating. Don’t eat while standing, watching the news, or rushing. Eating is not only to feed the body but also to nourish it. Before taking a bite ask, “Am I hungry?” If you aren’t, don’t eat.
- Change one food habit each month. For example, add a new vegetable to your menu, try replacing one junk food favorite with one new healthy snack, work on a food problem, eat half rather than all of something you want that you know may not be good for you.
- Be realistic about exercise. Do at least 10 minutes, three times per week to get started.
- Practice standing on one foot. Improving your balance now can help you gain strength for a longer, safer, and more energetic later life.
- Sit quietly and breathe deeply for 3-5 minutes each day. This time of reflection helps minimize stress and increase self-awareness. With regular practice, deep breathing becomes automatic.
- Be more accepting of yourself and others. When you make a mistake—or another person makes a mistake—throw up your hands and say, “How interesting! How fascinating!”
- Write! Writing is an effective way to give intention to your goals and to increase your self-awareness. Self-awareness is the key to motivation and success.
- Allocate a minimum of 15 minutes of your day to yourself. Keep this in mind: We can’t do it all completely, but we can do it all partially!
- Slow down in everything you do. We can be fast-paced on the outside and slow-paced on the inside.
Ask yourself what you are willing to do, not what you should do. Wellness is about persistence, patience, and consistency. Look ahead to the end of the year and ask yourself what a successful health year means to you. Then try something that will move you toward that end.
