Six years ago I started to meditate as a way to reduce my very high stress levels. With that came some other good self-care practices (eating healthier food, taking good vitamins/supplements, getting back into the gym).
While I was doing all of these great self-care activities, I was still experiencing chronic stress and the negative effects that came with it (poor sleep, fatigue, irritability, chronic headaches and so on).
Last week I did a book review on The Cost of Hidden Stress. That book made me realize that is was absolutely imperative that I figure out how to significantly reduce my stress – and fast!
Not long after, I read Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson. This was another one of those books that fundamentally changed the way I live my life. This book is like having your own personal coach as you change thinking patterns and behaviors so you can begin to take more time for yourself.
In the book there is a seven step plan for you to get clear on what is important to you and to find ways to start taking action. The biggest take away for me was that I could start to say “no” to people and events. I used to feel so much guilt and obligation to do things that I “should” be doing.
It took me some time at first, but I figured out how to say “no” to people without feeling like a bad person and and in a way that respected them. I even ended up writing an ebook on How to Say “no” with Grace and Respect.
Once I began to cut out all the things I didn’t really enjoy doing, I had much more time to do the things that nourished me. This is when I really started to see my stress begin to lessen.
Your stress less challenge is to say “no” to at least one event or invitation this week. Leave a comment and let me know how it felt!
Cheers
Charlene
oxox