5 simple stress relievers

We live in an imperfect world and things happen that make us uncomfortable, squeezed, and stressed out. While nobody is immune, there are simple things we can do to rise above our daily dose of stress:

1. Have a sense of humor.
The oldest lady I ever met in my life was 111. It’s not that she didn’t have stress. She was married five times. I’m sure four divorces took a toll. But she was always cracking jokes, which of course helps one ride out the rockier periods in life. Next time you are grinding it out and feeling the squeeze, watch an old school SNL skit to rise above and shake it off.

2. Believe in your strength.
You are stronger, smarter, and greater than whatever comes your way. You have to know that. You have to believe that. You have to declare that each and every day.

3. Practice your reaction.
When things get stressful, the tendency is to tighten up, freak out from fear, and run. Thus, FEAR has been said to stand for: Forget Everything And Run. The alternative is a learned response. It takes practice to relax and stay calm in the heat of the moment. Meditation or yoga are great practices to simulate intense feelings in a safe environment and breathe through rather than react to.

4. Surround yourself with cool cats
If you surround yourself with a bunch of stressed out freakazoids, you will probably become a stressed out freakazoid, too. So seek out people who are cool, calm and collected. This can be challenging. We become very comfortable with what is familiar. So if stressed out people are familiar to us, we might have to push the boundaries to move into uncharted (and more relaxing) social territory. Next time you're thinking of who you'll make weekend plans with, think of the coolest cat you know and spend a little time in their relaxing vibration.

5. Be generous.
Stress is a pattern of events, a downward spiral. And to pull out of it, sometimes you need to take powerful, deep, and beautiful measures. In the midst of your stress, be really generous. It might be the last thing you'd consider when getting squeezed, but it busts up the pattern and can send you spiraling into a better day. As Marianne Williamson said, "The only thing missing in any situation is that which you are not giving." 

If you blame stress on everyone and everything, you will merely perpetuate that behavior.

If you take responsibility and believe you can solve the stress, you can and you will solve the stress!