Stressed Out at Work? - Try Stop

You're beginning to have a panic attack at work - your breathing is strained, your chest is tight, and sweat is beading on your brow. You feel confused, scattered, your energy splintered in a million directions. Before you know it, you've misplaced a vital document which is needed at an upcoming meeting, had a disagreeable exchange with your boss, and snapped at someone on the phone. You seem to have lost your presence of mind, you feel disconnected to your body, and everything you do seems to be a brittle reaction to the challenges of your day.

At such moments - and we all have them -a simple exercise in awareness can totally shift the energy and change your perspective. STOP is a four-part exercise that anyone can do at any time. It takes about one minute to complete. It goes like this:

(S)top. Stop what you are doing - if you're reaching for the phone to call someone, stop. If you're about to walk down the hall, just stop. If you're reading a report, put it down. Just stop whatever it is that you're doing.

(T)ake a breath. If it feels comfortable, gently allow the eyes to close. Then follow your breath at the abdomen as it enters the body and as it leaves - breathing in and knowing that you're breathing in, and breathing out and knowing that you're breathing out. Do this for 30 seconds without trying to do anything else. Just breathe.

(O)bserve. Observe exactly how you are in this moment - notice how the breath is, whether it's tight or open, long or short, notice whatever physical sensations are most predominant, and notice what emotions might be present. It's very helpful to name the sensations and emotions - you can silently say to yourself, "tightness," "tense," or "anxiety," "anger", "frustration," etc. Whatever is present is totally okay -don't judge the experience, just acknowledge it honestly and with an attitude of kindness towards yourself.

(P)roceed. Now that you've acknowledged with complete honesty how your are in this moment, you have instantly reconnected yourself to the present moment, and body and mind have a closer connection. You feel more space surrounding your difficulties, and you are ready to face the next moment with more awareness, authenticity and effectiveness.

When we cultivate an attitude of spaciousness around our stress, we become free of the habitual thought patterns and emotional turmoil that trap us in negative reactivity - by simply acknowledging how we are and tuning in to the breath and body, we are aligning ourselves with a wider perspective that lets us relax our grip. With that broader perspective, we are also able to make wiser choices about how to respond 3/4 rather than react - to the challenges of the day. And the beauty of STOP is that you can do it throughout the day, whenever you notice stress building up or your presence of mind has diminished.

William Scheinman is a mindfulness meditation trainer and co-founder of Stress Reduction At Work, which provides mindfulness training at company worksites. http://www.stressreductionatwork.com

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Frustration - Let it Drive You

Believe it or not we control our own frustration levels. We create our own frustration by our reactions to events and situations. We ask ourselves over and over again why does this keep happening to me? Many times when "things" happen to us , we believe it is because of other people. When it is actually our reaction and how we respond that creates the situations we find ourselves in. When someone cuts me off in traffic I can decide if I am "gonna get even!!" or if I am going to say to myself "better they are in front of me so that I can see what they are doing". We really can control our own frustration simply by the way we talk to ourselves.

Being locked into or attached to the outcome can be a big part of why we get frustrated. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves "Why am I so attached to this particular outcome?" I know for myself many times when I let go of my specific desired outcome and let other ideas in - the end result can be much better than I originally pictured.

If we use frustration wisely it can actually drive us. In my current efforts of building a home based business a huge part of my growth and personal development has come from using frustration to my advantage. Now I allow that frustration to drive me to do something different when things "just ain't going the way I want them to".

In the past when I was frustrated with a project or task I would walk away from it. Now I ask for help or assistance. Previously, I would go back to projects and tasks that I had walked away from, but in many of the cases, I only created the same frustration and would get myself into a vicious circle of frustration and walking away. The end result would be not completing the task or project. Now by asking for assistance I can learn a new way of doing something, apply it and "YAHOO" the project or task is completed.

We need to be clear in exactly what we want. Take a really close look at what you want. Are you doing the things you need to do on a daily basis in order to achieve what you really want? Make a list; keep it in front of yourself EVERY DAY. Because what we focus on is what we get.

Decide how you are going to use your frustration . Frustration creates energy, and we need to make a DECISION how we are going to use that energy. One of my first real success examples is when I quit smoking. At the time I had a 4 year old nephew he kept asking me "When are you going to quit smoking Auntie Carla?" then he would add the kicker "I don't want you to die." Now I know my sister and mother coached him on saying that but it still worked. People used to wrinkle their noses and move away from me in public arenas. Many of my friends had quit smoking and no longer invited me to all the social gatherings. My frustration with all of those different events happening in my life at the same time drove me to making the third and final attempt to quit smoking. I am happy to say that it was successful, not always easy but well worth it!!

What are you going to do to let frustration drive you? Send me an email let me know how the article has been beneficial for you and I would love to hear your success stories; even if you believe it is only a minor success. I believe that one small change now can change your future so please do send share with me about any and all of your success stories. Join Me For My Terrific Tuesday Teleclass
1-218-486-7200 Bridge 549706
Every Tuesday at 5:30 Pacific

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carla_McNeil

Step by Step Stress Relief Methods

Stress is a significantly rampant and dangerous phenomenon throughout the world. Stress can cause illness and most people are not aware of that. You can relieve stress by performing deep breathing. If you have to take classes such as yoga, then it would be recommended. Yoga relaxes you. Meditation is also another method of relieving stress and yoga also provides some form of mediation. You can do deep breathing on your own by breathing in and out through the nose. Close your eyes when you are doing so and this will give you a sense of meditation and relaxation.

Do something different and change your routine. You might be surprised how walking up to a stranger and striking up a conversation might be a great stress reliever because there are no inhibitions. You can just be yourself. You can even talk to the person about any issues you are having and they will listen to you without judging you so you can be yourself.

Appreciate the people in your life. Give them a hug and let them know how you love and appreciate them. Gratitude is the best stress reliever. You no longer think about what is going wrong, but what has been done right so far. Learning to be appreciative can be a great stress reliever.

Maintain clarity in your mind. Do not harbor any negative thoughts or negative people who burden you with their own stress. You can be a problem solver, but you don't have to make it your life's goal to solve everybody else's problem.

Walking is a good stress reliever. When you go for a walk, you can get to clear your head and be more aware of what is going on around you. You get time to think about whatever is challenging you.

Listen to soothing music. This is a great way to relax you. You can put on a CD in your car when you are traveling so that it will relax you before you get to your destination. If you make that a habit, then you will always be in a relaxing mood.

Laughter is also a good way to relieve your stress. Laughter is good for the heart and also relaxes you. Find friends that share jokes with you and who also love to laugh a lot. You would be surprised what this can do for you. Try having more fun with your life. Go out with your friends and enjoy life. Don't be serious all the time. There is a time and place for everything.

It is said that chamomile tea is good for relieving stress. Drink it at the end of the day and see if it works for you. Change your lifestyle, if you have a hectic life. Tone down a little. Drop some of the things that are not so important and simplify your life. Sometimes, it is our busy lives that cause us to be so stressed out all the time. You can change your own destiny by changing the things that you do.

Sharon Capehart, Empress of Empowerment makes it her mission to "wake up" women everywhere to the incredible potential they have long forgotten they possess. She is the author of "The Power 2 Be You!," creator of "A Woman's Path to Success" as well publisher of the FREE Power Up! ezine. Sharon will help you build a solid foundation of confidence, cultivate a success-oriented mindset, and walk with you on your journey to a life filled with Passion, Excitement and Personal Power. For more information and FREE (ezine, blogs, articles, etc) resources please visit http://www.positivelywomen.com

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