Don't Let These 12 Things Stress You OutYour Heading Text Here
Halloween is over, and now we are full-on into the holiday season with Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas coming up QUICKLY!! Quicker than I probably want to admit!
And, while I love the holiday season…there is a certain amount of stress that goes along with it, am I right? Between trying to find the right gifts, squeezing in visits to everybody’s family, making time for friends, attending holiday parties, planning the perfect holiday meals, and let’s not forget WORK…Yeah, it can all lead to holiday stress.
But I’ve vowed to make the holidays this year a little less stressful. In fact, I’m vowing to make my life a whole lot less stressful.
And I want you to do the same!
Because in reality, stress does us no good. All it does is make us anxious, increase our blood pressure, and leave us wondering why we even were stressed in the first place.
Of course, if you’re sitting there reading this and saying, “Brenda…that’s all well and good, but what exactly should I not be stressing about?” – Well, I’ve got 12 things that I want you to take off your stress list! Want to hear them? Yes, yes, you do!
1. What People Think of You
WOW! This is a big one…and one I struggled with for a long time. Was I too much for people? Not enough? Was I too loud? Too quiet? (Yes, it does occasionally happen that I keep my mouth shut.) But then I said, “Why am I stressed about this? Why do I care?” I have an amazing family, awesome friends, and co-workers who respect the job that I do. And the others who might think I’m “too whatever” – well, I can’t be worried about them.
2. The Past
How many times have you sat there kicking yourself over something you did or said (or didn’t do or didn’t say) in the past? Yeah…too many times to count, I bet. It’s time to let that sh*t go. You can’t go back and change it. Move on.
3. The Future
And guess what? You can’t spend your time stressed out about things that haven’t happened yet? You do the best you can to prepare for them, and then you let things take their course.
4. Other People’s Drama
It can be so easy to get dragged into other people’s drama…so easy. But you just can’t do it! Because all it does is bring you unneeded stress – and I’m sure you’ve got enough of your own without taking on the burden of someone else’s. Now, this can be a tough one sometimes – especially when it’s family or friends trying to bring you in – but this is your chance to practice saying, “No…” and setting some boundaries that will keep you drama-free.
5. Your Weight
Nope, nope, nope! You are not going to worry about your weight. It’s a number on the scale. You are going to take care of yourself, eat healthy, exercise, and have regular checkups, but you’re not going to fixate on that number. Let. It. Go.
6. Gossip
I saw this quote: A healthy mind does not speak ill of others. And I love it! If people are gossiping about you…keep this quote in mind – and know that your mind is healthy by not engaging.
7. Aging
What is it about women and aging? When I was younger, I worried about aging…not gonna lie. But as I’ve aged (which isn’t that funny?) – I’ve learned to go with the flow and love the person I’m becoming. Don’t let aging stress you out!
8. Making Mistakes
All I can say about this is that we ALL make mistakes. You work hard to correct the ones that you can, you apologize for the errors you can’t fix, and you try to do better in the future.
9. Doing All the Things
Can I tell you something? Wonder Woman is a fictional character – and none of us are Wonder Woman. We can’t do everything. We just can’t. So don’t stress about the stuff you can’t do. This is why we rely upon the expertise of others. We all have things we’re good at…and we can seek out others to help us with the things we can’t do.
10. Being Perfect
Anne Wilson Schaef said, “Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order.” And she was right. A few weeks back, I did a blog dedicated to perfectionism – it’s one to check out if you suffer from it.
11. Your Success
You can’t stress about success. Often, when you think you’re not successful, it’s because your definition of it is out of whack. How are you defining success? By your salary? Your title? Success comes in many forms…and you just may need to redefine how you view it.
12. Trying to Please Everyone
I’ve talked a lot about saying “no” and setting boundaries, and a lot of it stems from the fact that you can’t please everyone – and we need to stop trying to. Understanding that you can’t make everyone happy will go a long way to protect your self-esteem and self-confidence.
Okay….so who’s ready to take these things off of their list of things that stress them out, make them anxious or cause them to worry? Which one(s) are you going to start with?