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Feeling Burnt Out? These Three Simple Tactics Will Change Your World

When I Google the words “stress management” I get 883 million results! With all that information out there, you’d think we’d have our stressors under control, done, over with, nada, kapoot! However, the exact opposite is true. I don’t have to tell you how stressed we are. Us humans have hit the high-water mark when it comes to stress in North America. Ironically, too much information on how we can reduce our stress causes stress…so vicious circle here we come!

Think minimally when it comes to managing stress…

 We know that too many choices are a bad thing. Prince Ghuman, minimalist and founder of 15Centre states: “When it comes to making decisions, our brain functions in two modes. One mode is largely automatic. It makes reactive decisions based on intuition. The second mode is deliberate, it makes rational, analytical decisions”.Making decisions takes energy and we only have so much before we end up feeling anxious and stressed. Couple that with the amount of information that comes to us every minute of the day (if we allow it to) and we’re soooo done.

That’s why you gotta keep it simple: 

Music. Meditation. Movement.

Every Day

 Music: Listen to your favourite tune with intention. What energizes you? What creates a strong emotion in you? What makes you happy or sad? (sad is ok).  Your brain on music is a beautiful thing.  It’s a calmer of nerves, a mover of our cellular structure, an elixir for the soul and a reducer of negative, ruminating thoughts. Music has the power to move you emotionally.  My dear friend and Music Therapist Jennifer Buchanan and her team of music therapists visit hospitals every day to deliver the healing power of music. What to kick the benefits of music up a notch? Play an instrument! Sing a song! My alter-ego Lana Miranda does both – uplifting audiences through the magic of music. Her mantra “you can never be sad when you’re playing the ukulele” is true!

 Meditation: Meditation provides the window to the realyou. Meditation widens and awakens you to the space between stimulus and response, providing an opportunity to notice and change your undesired response to one you have consciously chosen. This new observation gives you the power to change anything in your life that you want change. Changing a response pattern can be life altering. One small change has a ripple effect…I know this from experience! (This is just one of the benefits of meditation but wanted to emphasize this one because it has made a huge positive change in my life.) Check out my favourite free meditation podcast at tarabroch.com. Don’t make a big deal out of it. Carve out 15 minutes every day. It takes time and patience, but I promise you, good things will happen.

 Movement: Move your body! Walk, run, golf, bowl, stretch, swim, just do something. If you can get out to a park or to the forest even better. “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks” – John Muir.  Our bodies are meant to move. Movement energizes you, keeps your body toned and provides a different perspective on a problem, a difficult situation…..it’s a “reframer”. Movement is a triple threat! It restores mentally, physically and creatively. 

 Lana is founder of her company You Unlimited specializing in stress management and offers uncomplicated solutions to our complicated lives. Are you practicing Safe Stress?

Lana Miranda is Lana’s alter-ego and is positivity personified through hilarious antics and musical stylings . Visit Lana’s website at www.safestress.ca

 

MOST OF OUR PROBLEMS CAN BE SOLVED BY USING THIS SKILL...

Five years ago, I had the honour of working with a leadership coach who casually dropped the statement “most of my client’s problems could be solved by effective listening”.  Being someone who coaches and presents keynotes in the field of stress management, it was a light-bulb moment!  If effective listening can eliminate the majority of problems and improve the quality our careers and personal lives, imagine what role listening can play in reducing stress!

 I rated myself as a good listener until I started self-monitoring my listening skills. I confess that they didn’t make the grade in fact….in some cases they were really lousy….especially when I was communicating with my husband! I admittedly would assume (makes an a-s-s out of you and me) I knew what he was thinking and what he was going to say I made the oh, so common mistake of half listening or being a lazy listener.  I also noticed when working with clients, I needed to dig more into their concerns regarding what they were looking for, ask more open-ended questions and then listen with humility and focus. When I did this, I didn’t stress as to whether I was covering all my bases as a facilitator because I was confident that I had through effective listening. Listening truly increased my confidence and decreased my stress!

Bottom line? Be an astonishingly amazing listener!

Being an astonishingly amazing listener is not easy. It takes introspection, patience and time…but the effort is career and life changing.

·      An astonishingly amazing listener builds and maintains clients and friendships and who doesn’t need more clients and friendships??

·      An astonishingly amazing listener brings focus to the present moment and only that moment, stopping the mind chatter and mindfully zoning in on the speaker. This screams RESPECT….the greatest gift you can give anyone!

·      An astonishingly amazing listener makes you and your business stand out in a crowded playing field.

·      An astonishingly amazing listener is a Sherlock Holmes: curious, engaged and committed to the task of gaining understanding. 

 For coaching, keynotes and workshops on how you and/or your employees can increase the bottom line and decrease stress in your personal and professional lives through the power of  Astonishingly Amazing Listening, contact me today. I promise I will use my astonishingly amazing listening skills!

 

 

 

NOW, MORE THAN EVER, PRACTICING GRATITUDE IS KEY

I know from experience that when I think about and write down the things I’m grateful for rather than what is irritating me, my mood changes instantly for the better. However, in these unprecedented times is this practice still effective? The answer is a resounding yes! Now more than ever; you need to practice gratitude. It has been scientifically proven that not only does practicing gratitude serve as an instant mood changer, it also helps to change the way we think over time. A study conducted by the Journal of Happiness suggested that practicing gratitude through journalling leads to people feeling happier, more connected and living more meaningful lives. (Just for the record, this is the stuff therapists long for their patients to acquire). In other words, practicing gratitude changes our brain….for the better! Now, who wouldn’t want that….especially now??

34 WAYS TO INSTANTLY CHANGE YOUR MOOD

  1. Listen to music

  2. Get deep into your hobby

  3. Go for a walk

  4. Talk to a friend who is a good listener

  5. Make a great meal for someone you love and for yourself too!

  6. Try something new

  7. Look at pictures and places you love

  8. Listen to a comedian

  9. Read an inspiring quote

  10. Try laughter yoga

  11. Breathe deeply

  12. Surround yourself with “happy” colours

  13. Smile

  14. Laugh at your mistakes

  15. Play a ukulele

  16. Smell a tree

  17. Meditate

  18. Light a scented candle

  19. Know you are not your thoughts

  20. Dress up in crazy clothes

  21. Eat a chocolate in three bites, savouring each bite

  22. Travel to your special space in your mind

  23. Sing

  24. Wear bright, happy colours

  25. Wash your dishes by hand

  26. Tune into an on-line workout

  27. Silence your mind

  28. Prune negative relationships

  29. Feed a chipmunk

  30. Write down three things you’re grateful for

  31. State positive affirmations

  32. Admire yourself

  33. Give unconditionally

  34. Cuddle your dog or cat

Check Out Why Canada Ranks 7th in World Happiness

Did you know that Canada ranks 7th in World Happiness out of 155 countries? According to the World Happiness Report published by the United Nations, Norway ranks number one, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Switzerland. The rankings are based on six factors -- per capita gross domestic product, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity, social support and absence of corruption in government or business. According to this United Nations Report, happiness “is increasingly considered the proper measure of social progress and the goal of public policy”. Who would of thought? In fact, countries such as Venezuela, United Arab Emirates, and Bhutan believe happiness to be so important to their country’s well-being, they’ve created the position of Minister of Happiness! Ms. Al Rumi, Minister of Happiness for United Arab Emirates states: “For us in the UAE, happiness is very important. I am a very happy and positive person and I choose to be happy every day because this is what pushes me, this is what motivates me, this is what gives a sense of purpose to my life, so I always choose to see the glass half full,” she said.

MARCH 9-10 is NATIONAL UNPLUG DAY

Put your devices to bed for 24 hours.

Take the Challenge to unplug from sundown March 9 to sundown March 10!!

 Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. – Ann Lamott

Happiness has elevated beyond the “fluff” factor.  A recent CBC podcast endorses this fact describing record enrolment in a Yale course that focses specifically on finding authentic happiness: Psychology and the Good Life.  It has the prestigious honour of being the most popular course in the school’s 317 years! U.S. statistictics declare 80% of students are overwhelmed and 50% are lonely. They feel betrayed by a system that taught them to believe that good grades, money and “things” will make them happy. They’re on a mission to find real, authentic happiness. This popular course nudges them toward the concept of “rewirement” or re-patterning of their behavior. Acts of kindness, social connection, gratitude and finding time to do things you love are on the top of the “finding authentic happiness” list. Then comes the hard part: do it!

Unplug:  Take the National Unplug Day Challenge

Call a friend: Go for a walk, set up a coffee date, take in a sports event or even better, participate.

Laugh: Humour has seriously positive benefits. Choose happiness.

Get outside: Notice and appreciate nature’s beauty. Drink in the stillness and quiet.

There’s no cookie-cutter approach for finding authentic happiness. Listening to your gut will reveal what you truly love to do. Another gauge I use for determining my likes is my energy level. What gives me energy, what takes energy away? Re-patterning our brains to change our responses to events and creating new habits takes patience. Is it worth it? Heck yes!!!

My recommended podcast: Cut Through Hate illustrates there’s hope for change! Amazing stories that illustrate hate can be kicked out of this world.

Where would our life and society be without music? Take a listen to these docs and links           :

20 Pieces of Music that Changed the World

Bahamas uses music for therapy. A story about creativity and forgiveness.

In celebration of International Women’s Week

Women Who Have Changed Music