1. Slowly count to ten. Sure, your mom always told you to count to ten. When you were a lot younger than you are now. The good news is, this still works. So long as you don’t rush through the numbers as if it was a speed challenge, the pause you’ll get is long enough for you to consider how you react.
2. Take some exercise. If your gym has a punch bag, use that. If it’s not an appropriate time to go to a gym, just take any exercise. Even a jog or a brisk walk. Anything to help clear the anger out of your system.
3. Relax and chill out. OK, that could wind you up further in the heat of an anger attack. But if it’s an option, take it. And if you’re too angry to relax at this present time, discover meditation or some other kind of relaxation technique to help longer term.
4. Play a video game. You can kill and destroy things to your heart’s content without harming anyone else close to you.
5. Take a long, deep breath. This is likely another thing you used when you were younger. Guess what? It still works now. It gives you pause for thought.
6. Don’t bottle up your anger. If you suppress your anger, you run the risk of it literally eating away at you. Find ways to safely vent your anger, ideally without hurting the people closest to you.
7. Keep an anger log. Once you’ve recorded a few anger outbursts, there’s a high chance you’ll recognize some patterns emerging. You can then decide whether anger is the best reaction to these events.
8. Turn your anger into laughter. Most any situation has a funny side as well as an angry side. Discover that laughter can often literally be the best medicine.
9. Stop getting angry at yourself. You’re only human. Work out how you can put up with yourself more and reduce the number of times you chastise yourself for your imperfections.
Saw Jeanette’s blog about Top Ten Great Pleasures on things that make you happy, and I came up with a list. I did my own list when I gave a writing assignment some time ago, but I’ll type them out here. I got greedy and came up with 30 things.
1. Seeing a beautiful rainbow in the urban area. (just saw one recently and everyone was crowding to see it)
2. Buying new books. (my job allows me to buy hundreds of books, so I also love the process of choosing them!)
3. Receiving magazines I like in the mail. (love 8 Days for the latest TV show synopsis and gossips, Time and Economist for their current affairs, and Fortune for money)
4. Reaching home on time to catch my favourite drama serials. (I’m a TV addict.)
5. Chatting on the phone with my husband. (Sometimes we chat for an hour before I go to bed)
6. Finishing an entire drama series within 3 days. (TV junkie alert – Desperate Housewives, Jumong, The Legend, and this year alone)
7. Surfing the net. (Especially excited when I check out the deals, and the tips and everything else)
8. Reading a book lying down. (Bad for eyesight, but I love reading)
9. Getting the resident stray cat’s attention. (I’m a closet Cat Lady. Only I don’t feed them. I like to tease the cats by making some sounds, and it’s cute when they turn their heads to look at me.)
10. Getting great response from the people I work with. (Sometimes I have great ideas, and I try them out at work, and they enjoy the sessions.)
11. Laughing at jokes. (Some of my friends are very interesting people.)
12. Helping my friends analyse and visualize their dates. (I get so excited doing this.)
14. Seeing my face or my article in the newspapers. (twice this year already. The next I want to see is my own book published. And lots more!)
15. Seeing my favourite car – Daihatsu Copen. (even if it’s not a good idea to own it)
16. Working out at the gym. (get to exercise)
17. Chatting with my brother and coming up with funny and cool suggestions. (too bad we seldom see each other even though we live in the same house)
18. Watching people’s pets on the Internet. (I used to sit in front of the computer and watch people’s pets on webcam. I don’t own any pets, so I compensate by looking at others’. Plus I even made a video about a friend’s Schnauzer playing.)
20. Listening, playing or doing something with music. (I want to write music. Maybe when I get my own work studio when my new house is ready. I’m a lazy singer who only sings once a week at my teacher’s place)
21. Travelling to beautiful places by aeroplane. (I like taking the plane, since I was a kid.)
22. Listening to waves lazing at the beach. (been to Bintan, Redang, Tioman, Hua Hin and Sibu, resorts in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand)
23. Having a massage. (lots of money spent on these.)
24. Discovering something interesting or new. (From internet, or my books. Love self-improvement books)
25. Getting room service at the hotel. (Coz I don’t have to tidy up. And I like eating in the room, plus I like having food delivered to my doorstep. I like staying at good hotels)
26. Checking my bank accounts, investments and other streams of income. (I love money! And having money to spend!)
27. Chasing celebrities from different fields from Asia. (My favourite is Ryu Si Won, Korean actor, I even appeared in some Korean entertainment show because I went to his fan club gathering. And another thou shalt not be named Asian Champion in some sports.)
28. Getting flowers from my husband! (When he has time, he will get them for me from the nursery.)
There are so many tools that show you how to relieve stress and it is no wonder. There is so much stress in the world today. Generally people are so busy they have little time for anything.
We are victims of a world gone mad. Think about it. We chase around hour after hour every day and we end up without any time. Money, success, careers and family are what drives us to keep going day in and day out and as a result we have become ‘stressed out’; ticking time bombs ready to blow at any minute.
Disease, chronics illness, hypertension and even heart attacks are just some of the symptoms of stress. Most of us don’t even realize the kind of stress we put ourselves under. We have built in mechanisms in our bodies that help us when we are confronted with stressful situations. We were not however supposed deal with stress all the time.
So, what do you do to relieve stress and the effect it can have on your body? In a moment you will get a chance to read 5 tips to effective stress relief but before you do there are two things that you should be doing on a daily basis to help you deal with stress.
The first thing is to get off adrenaline. One of the best tips on how to relieve stress is to plan better. Life happens and there are always going to be surprises you can’t avoid but it doesn’t have to be like this all of the time. A little planning can be the best thing you can do to keep your stress levels down. Your health and well-being could be at stake.
The second thing is to drink less caffeine and if you are a smoker to cut back, or better yet, quit smoking. Nicotine and caffeine can cause harmful stress to the body. Try to limit your intake where possible.
Ok so let’s take a look at 5 things you can do to help your body and mind better deal with stress.
1. Get regular exercise It doesn’t really matter what you consider exercise. It could be jogging or taking a long brisk walk or even doing a workout at the gym. Regular exercise is what is important and so is making sure you are relaxed while doing it. There is no point in exercising if you hate every minute while you are doing it.
2. Relaxation and meditation I know it sounds easy to say just relax or chill out but most people don’t know how to. You don’t have to know the art of meditation in order to just get a little uninterrupted time for yourself on a consistent basis.
3. Go out and spoil yourself This doesn’t mean you go out and start shopping ladies. It does mean doing something for yourself. What you could do is go to a spa and enjoy a relaxing massage or you could sit down to a good book and a little alone time.
4. Video and board games Games can be excellent stress relievers. You may want to choose careful the people you play the game with so as to avoid tension because of competitiveness. There are some great free software games you can download off the internet that are great to help relieve stress
5. Get some decent sleep Make sure you get enough rest. When you interrupt your sleeping patterns you put unnecessary and potentially harmful stress on your body. If you are constantly thinking you are not resting. It may not sound possible but you can turn off thoughts about worry simply by not reacting to them.
You do not need to do all of the above right away but you should start with one, get in the habit of doing it regularly and then start the next one. Relaxing is what is important not what you do. Start today.
I borrowed a DVD today after a gym workout, and it was Just My Luck. It was about Lindsay Lohan having great luck in everything she did. The moment she stepped out of her building lobby, the rain stopped and the cab stopped right for her. She managed to get into an empty lift and get picked up by a rich man’s son. Next, she even got a job promotion after solving a major crisis.
One thing that struck me was that she had so much positivity. The Law of Attraction worked really well for her, so she did not believe that she was lucky. She just got what she wanted because she carried positive thoughts.
Now, the problem came when she kissed a guy who had the worst luck in the world. Their luck switched and she immediately got arrested, lost her job and broke her nose while in detention. He got a chance of his lifetime to get a new British band discovered by a music mogul.
About this guy, despite having bad luck for most part of his life, he did not blame himself. He still looked on the bright side of things, and was well prepared to solve any possible problems, such as keeping a poncho instead of an umbrella because he knew it would become a lightning rod with all the strong wind instead.
Even when Lohan was stuck in a janitor type job and had to scrape bubblegum and unclog the toilets, she learnt from mistakes quickly and did her best in everything.
Of course, this is a show, and anyone who is down on his or her luck will not be able to smile like her. But what was interesting was that when you keep getting something you want, even better things will come. In addition, what can go wrong will go wrong. You choose to keep a virtuous cycle as compared to being stuck in a vicious cycle.
Do you know why employees at Google get to swim, play basketball, work out at the gym or play any other games while they are still at work? The swimming pool and basketball court is actually inside the Google Complex. Do you know why you are always feeling tired and bored of life? It all boils down to a simple maxim: exercise brings about a radiant life.
If you are already exercising, you are on track to lead a great life. If not, you can always get started. There are ten rituals expounded in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. These ten rituals, which include reading, meditating, listening to music, speaking and so on, are some simple tasks that promise to transform your life. One of them is to exercise.
Exercise helps to train your body, and when you body is fit, you are able to train your mind too. It helps you to feel refresh and rejuvenated, instead of tired and lousy. At the same time, when people exercise, it helps them to focus better. They can become more creative. Because of exercising and of course other reasons, the Google employees are constantly creating new things and improving on their present products.
While not all of us are in tip top condition now, some form of exercise is definitely necessary. I’m glad to say I have an exercise plan which I am committed to, and this took me quite some time before it really took off. I am certainly very glad that I am now very eager to exercise. In the beginning, I accompanied my mother to yoga classes. As I had learnt ballet when I was young, it was quite easy for me to learn the poses. Unfortunately, I was unable to continue with it due to time and location. Classes were held in town, and I usually could not afford the time to go down.
However, I had a target last year and that was to look good for my ROM, I started working out in the gym at my workplace. With a clear focus in mind, I felt my pants were not as tight as before and I was glad with the results.
After discovering that exercise actually helped me feel refreshed and happier, I decided to search for a proper gym. At the same time, I felt that I wanted to mix yoga and pilates with cardio-exercises. A convenient location was extremely important. I found one that was midway between my workplace and my home, so I could work into my schedule to go to the gym at least 3 times a week.
It has been almost six months since I had started with my gym, and I’m glad to say I have managed to work this into my routine. It has become a habit to go to the gym, and I am glad that I am able to stick with this.
Therefore, if you wish to bring positive change to your life, start with some simple exercises. You do not need to jog if you hate it. Yoga is beneficial and depending on your fitness level, there are many types of yoga that you can consider that caters to your needs. When you have become fitter, you can start to explore other types of exercises, just to make your exercise regime more varied and interesting.
