These are some strategies that I use, literally, every day. I use them consciously and unconsciously, depending on what I am stressed about. For me, getting these concepts in my head has helped me to feel more in control of those areas where I can determine how I react and deal.
To each item on your list apply one of these plans ... get RID of it, get CONTROL of it, get it DONE, get OVER it, get a new PLAN, get a new PERSPECTIVE and give it to GOD, again.
We will go in detail for each one over the next couple of weeks, but for now ...
Get RID of it, that one is pretty clear but its a great one! So often stuff makes us feel stressed. Whether its because we have too much of something, we dont have room for it, it makes us feel guilty for some reason (clothes that dont fit in your closet), its old and broken, its dirty or worn out. Getting rid of stuff is SO freeing! And, less stuff means less to stress over!
One other thing you can apply this to, is your schedule. If there are things there that are stressing you get rid of it from your schedule. Too much time away from home? Might need to look at what you can get rid of!
Get CONTROL of it. I apply this one specifically to my laundry! I hate laundry. It stresses me out. But I cant get rid of it. So, it must be dealt with it.
Get it DONE. This applies to a good portion of the things on my daily Stress List. The grocery shopping, the bill paying ..its all stuff that has to just get done. How often are misused resources, and thus stress, caused by simply putting things off? Do it.
Get OVER it.You know exactly what I mean girls. There are alot of things we stress over that we really neednt stress over. It wastes our resources a good portion of the time when we stress and fret over things that cant be changed or arent worth the resources we are putting into them.
This applies when we allow ourselves to get stressed over things that people say or do that irritate or upset us. We tend to ponder, discuss, ponder, sulk, ponder and create MORE stress for ourselves with the pondering ...so if you can, get over it sista.
Get a new PLAN. Sometimes we have dealt with a stressor and it comes back. It may be a sign that we need to handle it differently. Did you TRY to get control of the laundry but you still were overwhelmed by it? Then maybe try getting rid of some of it by decreasing the number of outfits your kids have at their disposal. Did you try putting the dog food up where the 18 month old couldnt reach it (you thought) but they found it anyways? Get a new plan. Reorder. Reorganize. Reprioritize.
Get a new PERSPECTIVE. This one could go hand in hand with get over it but a little unique in that it asks for a different view point. Its about changing your attitude ..like, you have a ton to do today but one of the kids are sick and wont let you put them down but, you get a new perspective and realize that you have a good excuse to sit and read books to your kids all day and let the laundry go!
Then, Give it GOD, again. Thing is, there is plenty of things that cause us stress that we can do nothing about. We can continue allowing those things to sap energy from our spirits, or give them to someone who can handle it.
Remember to, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." I Peter 5:7 (NLT)
Do any of these particularly appeal to you? Do any of them strike you as applicable to
your Stress List today?
ok, I am almost through with my marathon session of school planning. And then I am moving on to your Stress List pointers. I cannot wait to make my list each morning and assign each item a category. I think it will be very freeing.
ReplyDeleteI'll be starting tomorrow!