Anxiety & Stress Are They Stealing Your Joy

Anxiety and stress can have debilitating results. For years I suffered through stress, work-related, home, you name it, I could find a way to stress myself out!

Over the past couple of years now, some fantastic results have passed through my life. Yes, I still stress, but boy can control it been enhanced. I will share with you my daily routine and habits that help.

prayer, faith, hope

First, let me say that if you’re struggling to get help from a licensed health care professional. What I am sharing with you is just daily habits that you can try to see if they help. By no means should you feel this is a cure-al?

Simple daily routine changes can help with stress & anxiety:

  1. Learn to quiet the mind. This is just a simple relaxation method that can help you with a clear mind. When the rhetoric in your head can slow down and quiet. Amazing results begin to appear.
  2. This can be a simple walk around your neighborhood. Or you can join a gym. Working out the tension in your body, getting stronger can help you not get so fatigued that your anxiety just increases.
  3. Take a moment often during the day to just breathe. Sixty seconds to breathe in through the nose and out through your mouth. Nice cleansing breaths.
  4. Regulate your soda, coffee, and high caffeine drinks. For most of us, we don’t need more help to get anxious.
  5. Take the time that’s just for you. Watch a sunrise by yourself. Sit by a creek. Do something that is just for you (retail therapy is a no-no. Credit card debt is a stressor). Go shoot baskets at the park, kick a ball, ride a bike.
  6. Stay connected with people that uplift you. Debbie-downer is not your friend. Choose wisely. Don’t hibernate.
  7. Set boundaries for people that bring stress into your experience. If someone can only talk about negative things. Cut them short (YES YOU CAN) politely excuse yourself from that situation “oh I totally forgot ______” hopefully that person gets a clue. You are not anyone’s sounding board for garbage.
  8. Home or office is a mess. Guess what? That is the state of your noodle. Clean up, organize, and enjoy the environment around you. People often tell me the disorganized desk in the office, “that’s just the way I am.” So, you’re a chaotic malfunctioning human, and we should all get over it? I regularly must organize myself, it’s a habit I highly recommend.
  9. Sit down and prioritize your life. I mean down to the last detail. If you tell me you’re a free spirit, you fly by the seat of your pants. Then I say super if you’re a well-adjusted, NORMAL functioning human being I will shut up. Otherwise, organize based on the importance of what you need to do every day. The reason being, if you have a real sense of accomplishment, wow, is that life-changing! Activity vs. Productivity learns the difference now!
  10. Patience and faith. If you can learn to allow life to unfold (yes you must do the work) knowing full well, you’ll be fine. Even when you can’t see a way, you believe with everything that is you, all will be well. Spiritual connectedness will indeed bring about peace in your life.
  11. Learn to be grateful right where you are. If you want more out of life, you must be thankful where you stand. If you want more from the Universe, why would that occur if you’re miserable where you are (NO, I am not suggesting you be grateful in a situation that is emotionally or physically harmful to you). However, if this is not the case and you’re simply aggravated at your lot in life. Be grateful you have a car that gets you to work, you have a job it may suck, but you have one, a roof over your head, food to eat, your health and clothes to wear.

You can find a million reasons to stay in the crap. I just gave you eleven reasons not too. What’s more, you can do each of these with just a little effort.

The real question now; “What are you prepared to do?” Until you make the decision to change your life, expect the same outcome.

No guarantee this will be easy. Nothing worth having is ever easy. I am going to let you in on a secret. For most of our lives, we’ve been taught to run away from pain. Sounds reasonable.

Ponder this:

When you first go to the gym and workout hard, what happens? Soreness from hell hits you. Can’t brush your teeth, can’t raise your arms high enough. You can quit or go back to the gym and work out a bit more until the soreness subsides.

Coaches will push you beyond your mental and physical breaking points. Why? Your head will quit far sooner than your body or mind can handle. Marathon runners are prime examples. “The wall” as marathon runners will tell you hits about the twenty-mile mark, and your brain says your body it’s time to stop. The physical pain that is causing damage to the point if you don’t stop, you could injure yourself or worse die.

Medical studies have proven this is all in your head. Runners are not hurt, injured, or dying. What is happening is our limiting beliefs take over, and it’s; fight-or-flight.

Before you give up, take one more step. If you took the step, then maybe we can go more. It’s all up to you. The ONLY PERSON ON THIS PLANET THAT CAN SAY YOU CAN OR CANNOT. IS YOU!

Don’t let anxiety and stress take your joy. If you need professional help go, get it. I am putting a resource to help you get started. This is not a paid endorsement, nor an endorsement by me. It’s just a great place to get started.

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National Institute for Mental Health

Glitzy Trains Daddy to do New Trick

For those of you that follow the chronicles of Glitzy. One of the most spoiled dogs on the planet. She has again outdone herself! I wouldn’t have it any other way.

So, two nights ago, about 2:37 AM. I hear a bark coming from the living room. A precocious bark only Glitzy can make. Several attempts were made to call her to no avail.

The trek for the living room begins. Glitzy continue the sharp bark as I look at Glitzy to ask, “what do you want, Glitzy?” I’m scanning the room for toys, bones, or other potential daddies fetch for my items. Not seeing anything I sit on the couch.

Glitzy stands up and paws me as she does when asking to be picked up. Grabbing her, I put her on the couch. Immediately she makes a couple of turns and flops next to me to go back to sleep. She wanted to sleep on the couch and thought it was a good idea for me to be there with her.

She seriously called me down to the living room and wanted me to sit not lay on the couch so she could go back to sleep. Yes, diva is never too strong a word for my Glitzy.

Glitzy, pet, Dog

Glitzy Obeying the Leash Law

Now we have gone from barking in bed at night for me to move so she can get a new spot she wants, too bringing me to the living room so she can sleep on the couch next to me on her couch blanket (yes Glitzy has couch blankets, floor blankets and blankets on the bed).

As I am typing this article, my fur baby is staring at me, as I suspect she will have me fetching something for her forthwith. I was right she has gone to the bedroom, now barking. It’s the afternoon so she will want me to lay down so she can watch a movie. If you’ve read about Glitzy, you will know she loves to watch movies.

Glitzy, Movies, Pets

For now, this is the end until Glitzy trains me to perform a new service for her!

Surviving Causes Us to Forget To Dream

When you’re focused on surviving, you will forget to dream. How can we turn that around? Are you ready to turn it around?

If so then read these few short bursts of wisdom that you can put into place right now. Those of you that read me know that “there is NO tomorrow, we have to get on it today.”

Survive mode is filled with fear, limiting beliefs, and of course, this stifles any progress. It’s way easier said than done to get from survival mode to actually have hope. Living paycheck-to-paycheck with one foot in ruin and the other on a banana peel.

self improvement, hope, happy

This is something I suffer through most of my adult life. How do we get past the oppression of our own minds?

Here are some quick things you can begin right now:

  1. Set reminders every day in your phone to alert you to stop and breathe. Take sixty seconds to relax and breathe. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth in a relaxed posture. 
  2. Take time daily to meditate. Learn to quiet your mind and focus on gratitude, hope, desires, and peace. Even if you cannot see any way to find any of these things in your own life. Just trust that it’s coming. The how is not essential the FAITH that it’s happening you have all that you desire. Do this, and the how will come! 
  3. Prayer is more powerful than anything else that you can try. Praying in faith that God has you! In my darkest moments, I just keep saying over-and-over “God has me, God has me.” This too is something that you may not see an answer, don’t look for it just recognize that whatever you pray for is coming to pass. 

When you do these few things consistently and with indeed an open heart. The HOW will find you. Don’t give in to “well, there is just no way this is ever going to work out.” Keep saying that and you’re right!

Lesson learned for me was to trust that God has control, and every month, what I need is provided. Somehow life works out, so I am okay. It may be a close shave, but somehow, everything I need at that moment is provided.

Making excuses over-and-over again solves nothing. If you have nothing, no hope, what the heck do you have to lose by just trying? You don’t have to believe 100% to work, the belief will come. Take a step move forward; life is waiting!

You can dream, you can have hope you can be happy! Begin by just saying to yourself, “I am not losing anymore.”

Three things to begin to break the bondage of life. You cannot give up, this is going to take work, crying, kicking, screaming, and praying! We’ve all been there, and no person is alone. Reach out.

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