Take a Mini Vacation

You know that feeling after a completely satisfying day -- you’re lying down to bed, feeling exhausted yet happy? I’m just guessing here, but has it been a while? Maybe when you were last on vacation. Would you like to take a mini-vacation, right now?

The good news is: feeling good is something you already know how to do—in fact, your body is naturally drawn to do what you enjoy and what you’re good at. In the next few minutes, you’ll learn a practical technique to create less stress for yourself —starting right now. Here’s how:

Find Things That You Like To Do

What do you really ENJOY doing? What puts a smile on your face the quickest?

Lets work on pulling out the practical segments of these activities. We want to find out – Just what is it exactly that you cherish about these things? This requires a bit of reflection and may take a few moments. Don’t worry – you’re not on your own – keep reading…

Do you really look forward to your morning walk around the neighborhood with the family dog? What do you like most about those walks? Is it the fact that you are getting in some quiet “me-time” with no one else around? Or maybe you value the physical benefit you get from the fluid movements of your body and the mind- clearing effects of your increased heartbeat and breathing… Perhaps you enjoy the time of day right after dinner when the sun is setting. Ask yourself, “What am I appreciating most about this picture?” Maybe you are really drawn to the beautiful colors at that time of day.

Use this checklist to put a finger on what delights you.

“Wow! I enjoy that!”

• Which places make you feel most at ease?

• Where do you feel most creative?

• What activities do you look forward to the most?

• Who are the people you can really enjoy yourself with?

• What times of the day do you feel like your senses are gathering the most input for you?

• What are your favorite sounds – musical instruments, sounds of nature?

• Which are your favorite colors – bright and vibrant, soft and soothing?

• What smells bring you positive associations?

Identify Your Weak Spots / Sore Spots

Think of something that you have wanted to start doing or feel that you are not good at doing. Where do you find yourself doing something with great reluctance? What are the necessary things in your life where you find yourself saying, “I’m not cut out for this!” Use the following checklist to identify things that rub you the wrong way:

“No way, it’s not my thing!”

• What are your least favorite activities?

• What intimidates you?

• Who intimidates you?

• Who are your least favorite people?

• What are the locations – in your home or place of work – that don’t do anything

for you, or even drain your energy?

• What seem to be your least productive times of the day?

• What is your pet peeve?

Drawing Connections

This part is a bit like playing a game of mix and match. Ready? – Now that you’ve done detailed work in discovering just what it is about a situation that brings out the best and the worst in you, it’s time to do yourself a favor and apply your “strengths” to your “weaknesses”.

The goal is to find your “sweet spots” among all of the things that bring you joy and a sense of relief and match them to an area of your day that doesn’t go so well. The key here is to realize that you already possess everything you need to smooth your bumpy road! Instead of such huge fluctuations in your activities – ones that you look forward to and complete with ease vs. ones that you dread and plough your way through – you will draw from the positives and apply to the negatives. It makes sense, doesn’t it?

Start The Improvements Right Away!

Let’s take the example of your favorite and least favorite room to be productive or creative. Think about all of the details of those two places – the colors, the lighting, the smells, and the temperature. Which setting, or combination of settings, brings out the best in you?

Take this strategy and apply it right down your list of things that bother you (weak spots) and refer to the information you gathered from your strengths. Our mind is an amazing tool…sometimes we just need another way of looking at things!

Take This With You:

Take a really rough part of your day and find an appropriate strength among your opposites. Apply that positive element to shed a new light on your rough spot and rapidly improve how you feel.

Milly is author of Beyond Words: A Guide to Drawing Out Ideas. She is co-author with Thomas Sechehaye of just-released Design Yourself and SOS: Stress Options and Solutions available at http://www.better-stress-advice.com

Milly and Thomas translate field-tested methods, from 17 years at Hands•On Graphics corporate trainings, to practical tools to help you reduce stress today!

Discover the newest visual and holistic approaches to manage stress and reduce information overload.

http://www.better-stress-advice.com