Do You Stress? I do.

Routines

It has been said that the true path to inner peace is maintaining an equilibrium. That is, balancing your home life with your work life, and vice versa. All work and no play makes Cam a bad boy… and the like.

Cliches aside, there is a definite truth to the statement “a happy home is a happy person”, and that applies to all areas of your life: home, work, social, spirtual, and otherwise. For myself, I know that there are times when I struggle to remain balanced and happy. Certain (small) things, such as the cats peeing on my couches or my car breaking down, can set me off on a different path. These things happen, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re annoying when they do.

How you deal with the minor things in life that annoy/irritate/enrage you determines whether or not you will remain happy. If you don’t handle things well, you will quickly go from “happy” to “unhappy”, and all of the time you spent building yourself a happy home will have been lost. Right? Well, maybe in a way that’s not quite as dramatic as I’ve made it sound ;)

In reality, everything comes down to stress and relaxation. Some things will stress you out, and others will relax you. Which does what depends on who you are and what your interests are, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are exacting. If you find that you are unhappy at work, home, or both, try some of the methods below- they’ve worked for me in the past.

  • Pursue a hobby
  • Gardening, photography, cars, computers, stamp collecting… whatever makes you tick, do it. Spend some time doing it and enjoying it, as a hobby is a great way to get your mind off of work, home, the kids, the spouse, and anything else that might cause your stress barometer to rise. Sometimes, when I’m just starting to get annoyed, I’ll fire up a computer game and geek out for an hour or two. Afterwards, I usually can’t even remember what set me off in the first place.

  • Cook something nice for yourself
  • I find that cooking myself a great meal, even if it’s something as basic as steak and mashed potatoes, is a great way to let off some steam (and enjoy a good meal at the end of it). It takes some time to cook, during which you are probably distracted by what you’re doing (cooking), and by the time you’ve sat down to eat you’ve likely forgotten what was stressing you out, or at the very least, won’t care as much.

  • Read the newspaper
  • Whenever I really start to lose it I’ll flip open the paper and give it a read. Sometimes all it takes is a quick dose of reality for me to realize just how good I’ve got it.

  • Watch the Thomas Crown Affair
  • I don’t know what it is about this movie, but every time I watch the Thomas Crown Affair I can’t help but laugh a little and enjoy mself. Maybe that movie’s not for you, but I guarantee there’s at least one movie that makes you happy. Find it, enjoy it, and come back to it whenever you need a mental break.

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2 thoughts on “Do You Stress? I do.

  1. When stressed, I usually go to the mall and shop (if I have some extra cash). Shopping is therapeutic for me and it actually keeps me motivated. I’ve read enough stories as a kid to know that money isn’t everything but being able to buy a lot of nice things really does wonders for my work morale. For example, I have a part-time job that is tedious but pays more than the average worker. It can get stressful at times but knowing how much I’ll earn boosts my energy.

  2. What im doing if im too much stress with the same routine. I change it up and do what interests me for the time being so that when i get back to my routines i feel working with it again.

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