I was cleaning out my garage / office space and found a book “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” by Richard Carlson so I flipped through it to decide if it was to go in the “Keep” or “Donate” box. I ended up sitting down and reading it :) I thought it would be nice to share a lesson once a week with my readers. So, here is the first lesson!
Lower your tolerance to stress
It’s funny how we all, OK.. most of us, have it backwards. We should be lowering our tolerance to stress rather than raising it!
People always seem to say “I’ve been working very hard” or “I’m really stressed out!!!”
We seem to see a “very high tolerance to stress” as a good thing. Stress management classes seem to focus on ways to raise our tolerance to stress.
Our current level of stress = our tolerance to stress
Do you notice that the people who seem to say “Oh, I can handle a lot of stress!” are the ones who seem to always be under a great deal of it.
If we all lowered the level, we would be more effective and allow us to enjoy life more (*and* to be more fun around!)
I had 4 orders I wanted to mail out the first thing in the morning so I was in a bit of a hurry (read: stressed). My daughter Amelia, who is 2 years old, was “bugging” me by wanting me to play with her while we were outside. I figured I could sit outside and do some work while watching her. Every time she would try and pry me out of my seat, my heart grew heavy every time I said “Mommy needs to work.” After a few attempts, I looked into her eyes and couldn’t help but smile and then laugh. At that instant I felt better so I dropped everything and got out of the chair. After half an hour I was much happier and this gave us a priceless bonding time.
And… I was more productive when I got back to work!
Isn’t it funny how a carefree 2 year old made me realize I needed to stop and play. It’s the kids that teach us more rather than the other way around.
So... remember to not stress the small stuff and de-stress often!
Genevieve xxx
