What the Stress?
Eat Desserts Instead
What if I told you that most heart attacks happen on Monday mornings because of the increase in stress levels after returning to work from the weekend. And I can understand why.
Many of us suffer from the Sunday night sleeping blues, where we lay in bed for hours with our minds racing with tasks and deadlines for the upcoming week. Those sleepless nights can increase our levels of anxiety, which therefore makes commuting to work on Monday morning a situation that could potentially drive anybody crazy.
Unless you are the boss of your world, there is little that you can do to change the environment at work. However, what you can change is how you approach each of those days. My dad is a firm believer that if you cannot change it, then do not stress it. So, if you can’t change your external environment, you can surely change your internal one. You can change the way you feel about anything that is external in your world.
So, on Monday mornings or any day of the week, if you are faced with harsh external conditions, don’t stress any of them. Instead, there are a few things you can do to help to bring more calm into your world.
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”―William James
Choosing your thoughts is an ability that you have control of. You can choose to have a negative thought about a situation, or you can choose to have a positive one. The choice you make will determine the level of stress you will feel.
If you have a hard time changing your thoughts, think about something that brings you peace. Maybe the last vacation you took, the last exciting book you read, perhaps just daydreaming about being somewhere peaceful would work as well. Let your imagination run wild. Whatever you do, when you are having stressful moments, change your thoughts and you will feel much better. Oh, and please, don’t forget to breathe.
“Laughter dulls the sharpest pain and flattens out the greatest stress. To share it is to give a gift of health.” — Barbara Johnson
Ahhh, laughter, it is the best medicine, it can drastically reduce your levels of stress. I recently learned that adults on average laugh only 17 times per day. Seventeen times, what the stress? Children, on the other hand, laugh about 300 hundred times per day. No wonder they are so happy, their souls are fueled with laughter, an activity that we are missing in the midst of our stressful days. So, if you find yourself stressed, just start laughing. Find something that you think is funny and laugh, laugh, laugh, and then laugh some more. It will be good for your soul. Oh, and please, don’t forget to breathe.
“Stressed Spelled Backwards is Desserts” — Loretta LaRoche
Eat the cake, the cookie or the donut that is sitting at the front desk or in the coffee room, and enjoy that brief moment of bliss. And if you are worried about your diet, tomorrow is another day. This is only one moment that will be gone after your last bite, but you will remember that blissful moment throughout the rest of your day. I understand that eating desserts for breakfast is not the best advice, but the point that I am trying to make is, you can turn stress around and change the flow of your day.
Why be stressed when you can have “desserts”? “Desserts” can be thinking of a happy thought, laughter, a walk-in nature, listening to music, or if you choose to, just simply eating the damn cake. In other words, “desserts” can become anything that brings inner peace and joy into your world. Turn your stressful moments into “desserts”, moments of pleasure.
Stress is a dangerous drug, but one that can be avoided.
Disclaimer:
- I don’t recommend eating actual desserts for breakfast, the sugar can cause you to crash later in your day. But, if you do choose to eat desserts, then do not stress about it, make a joke and move on to another moment.
- I am aware that there are other factors about stress that are not discussed here. There is no cookie-cutter solution, one size does not match all.
Have a stress-free day and please inject some laughter into your lives, or take a break to go outside, sit quietly under a tree, and listen to those freedom birds sing. Oh, and please, don’t forget to breathe.
Thank you all for reading and enjoy the rest of your day.