Hard questions

It’s true that money is tighter, the world is a little more worried and we all feel a little more pressure from the world around us.  We all have basic needs and many of us are lucky enough to have food shelter and clothing and there are, of course many that don’t.

For who have our basic needs met there is always the tendency to want more, to feel like we have to go without and that our lives are not somehow complete if we don’t get that extra holiday, the new car or the extension built.  In times like these it’s a good opportunity to ask some hard questions. 

Many of us feel trapped in jobs we cant stand with mortgages or debts we have to service and ultimately we can feel stressed, anxious or fearful of the future.  The antidote  is rarely immediate and certainly never easy, but by asking ourselves what we really need in life we might start to move towards a life that is less weighed down by the choices of when were younger.  To feel lighter its important to offload thinking that keeps us stuck, such as needing to upgrade or take that extra holiday. Ask yourself, do I need to buy that new car, can I still enjoy a well cared for used car?  do I need to buy more clothes when what I have looks fine and still fits? 

This is not about abstinence, it’s more about making conscious choices based on need rather than impulse.  Inertia can lead you to a life that you don’t want so how about thinking and asking yourself where you want to go before making any choices?  Your life is never going to be easy all the time but you can invest in an easier existence by buying less now to have more freedom in the future.

Lunchtime Playtime

Imagine a playground at work!

 

 

When you were at school the day would be broken up with breaks in the playground where you could talk to friends, play games, have a run and generally let off steam.  In the world of work it’s not so easy to find a chunk of time everyday where you can do your own thing but it maybe possible to dedicate one lunchtime to doing something that will relieve stress and allow you to recharge you batteries instead of eating at your desk, in the staff restaurant or rushing to the bank. 

Making a change to your routine by carving out one hour in the middle of one of your work days to do something different will give you something to look forward to and may yield great benefits in reducing your stress and tension levels  making you feel more able to deal with the demands of work.  Here are 3 suggestions to try one day this week:

Walking club

Why not start a walking club with some colleagues, where you can agree in advance a series of walks in the local area lasting for about 40 minutes allowing some time at the end to eat.  The walks don’t have to be particularly vigorous but the club do need to take responsibility to take part consistently. The benefits are numerous but will include, getting to know colleagues better, increasing fitness levels and reducing tension. 

Start or join a games club

This can be a simple yet very effective idea where a few of you can decide on a game such as scrabble and arrange to play every week for an hour over lunch. The group can remain small but if more colleagues show interest then perhaps go to your employers and present it as a morale improving initiative for staff.

Start or join a book club

Workplace book clubs are gaining in popularity and are again an effective way to do something completely different from your work while getting to know the people who work in your organisation. The concept is very simple and will mean the group decides on the title of the book for the month and you all then buy a copy and then meet back at regular intervals to discuss the story. In some cases book clubs will arrange to watch a stage or screen adaptation of the story adding another feature to the social aspect of the club.

The workplace ‘playtime’ is an opportunity to use some of the valuable time you have in the middle of your day which may teach you something new, improve your health and help you to make new friends all of which are excellent ways to improve confidence and reduce stress.

5 ways to ease stress

When the balance tips away from comfortable stress, it’s easy to feel as if life is getting on top of you. Try these 5 suggestions to reduce the stress levels and to shift your mind away from a worry that’s occupying too much of your thinking.

1. Go for a brisk walk

yes even if it’s raining, wear the right clothes and then walk quickly for 20 minutes. Make sure that as you walk you look around you to take in the world, and breathe deeply.  The action of moving your body at pace, and a change of scenery where you are seeing the world at work and  play will get your mind unstuck and lift your mood.

2.  Play a game

Whether it’s solitaire, or something on your Wii or PS3 with someone else or alone, half an hour of getting into a challenging but fun game takes your mind away onto something else, freshens you up and allows you to come up with a new way of thinking. Try this link to a free game of checkers http://www.thepcmanwebsite.com/checkers.shtml

3. Volunteer

It doesn’t have to take up too much time in the week but helping a local charity, school or other group will help to take your mind away from the day to day worries and allow you the wonderful benefits of making new friends, learning new skills and opening up new opportunities. Most types of volunteering will produce positive feelings and here’s a link to a Press Association release describing some recent research http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYbaqsrGFjRXD9olpjfCq79je5cg

4.  Get creative

You don’t need to be a trained artist and it’s not about getting it ‘right’ it’s about letting go of constraints and the need to do something by a given time to some predefined standard. So try a creative art, perhaps take some photos on your mobile phone and then edit them on your PC, or get some pastels and sketch. Creative outlets without rules can free our thinking to the point where we feel more confident, happier and more able to deal with life issues. I recently bought some air drying clay and decided I would be a sculptor for the afternoon and it was great fun I made this and as you can see it’s about the journey rather than the destination!

Man thinking on nature - My first sculpture!

5. Talk to a friend

Yes this is tried and tested and the positive impact on stress of ‘offloading’ to a friend or someone close cannot be underestimated. As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved. Speaking with someone about your stresses can open up a new approach you may not have seen before and you will feel supported which of course increases your confidence.

Simplify your life by turning down the volume

We are living in an age of noise and movement. Shops open 24/7, television offers choice beyond what we dreamed even 20 years ago, information is coming at us from every source, our rooms are filled with wireless signals that allow us to access the Internet form anywhere and we use technology so that we can work from home and yet never be away from work.

Every Modern City?

This is of course progress, it is convenient and when we can afford it we all try and benefit from it. The credit crunch is taking a grip and the need to work and keep up with the demands of our kids, the expectations of society and our personal frustrations at never escaping the rat race lead us further into a rat race of debt and hollow ambition. Here’s a link to an article by Laurael Ives in The TImes which offers some interesting tips on coping with and countering busy city life  http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/body_and_soul/article4587980.ece.

It is naive to think of being able to escape all this and in most cases most people wouldn’t want to be without it completely, but there is a need for balance a point where we take what we need from life and then enjoy being in control of our choices. Sometimes it’s just what we need to take a walk somewhere quieter and simpler….

A time to relax

Another aim of this blog is to highlight ways to make life a little more quiet, to turn down the volume so you can still enjoy the sounds but you can also hear yourself think. In making things a bit simpler, you get to spot the pieces of life that are quietly waiting to make you smile.