I miss my picture :(
We've all mentally set certain goals for ourselves this year, to make this one better than the last, but what about actually sticking to those goals? Whether it's to shed a few pounds, pay off those credit cards, quit smoking, or find a better paying job, it starts to get overwhelmingly stressful. The body's natural response to the mass consumption of thoughts, or negative situations, is to stress out, which is both psychological, and physiological. When your body kicks into stress mode, thoughts all over the place, your hormones run with it, and you're psychologically psyched out. Although stress is the body's natural response, if you repetitively become stressed out, your body will continue to releases stress hormones, stressed or not, leaving your body at a consistent high blood level. The consistency of the stress hormone can result in short, and long term, side effects, such as memory disorder,mood swings,anxiety, and even substance abuse. NOT HEALTHY! Plus, you tend to take your stress out on the people around you, making you an unpleasant person to be around. So let's take a deep breath, count to ten, and de-stress a bit.
Money Stress....
Who hasn't been a victim of money stress at one point or another? Whether it's living paycheck to paycheck, or racking up bills from credit cards to cellphones, most all of us have been there. Honestly, in all of life's stresses, money has to be the most consistent. There is always something to pay for, always something that comes up, and always something we want. The people that I have found to be the most successful with their money, not necessarily being the richest, have formed some kind of budget and savings plan. I know, I know, savings plan, smaving plan. You either have one or you don't, or you just keep digging into it when the time feels right. Here's a little pointer, automatic savings, automatic bill pay. How cool? Someone sets aside your money for you, and pays your bills, no late fees. In theory it is nice, and it does work, but i understand that sometimes we don't always have the money in our accounts to cover that all the time. The best recommendation I can give to that is, put your priorities first, pay off the bills, buy food, and get gas, the survival stuff. The less bills you have, the less money you spend. All much easier said than done, but if you save, and budget, you have a better idea of what's coming in and what's going out. If money really becomes an issue, you may have to look into that second job, or scout out one that pays a little more, but don't stress, nothing is permanent, and once the bills are paid off you'll be living a lot easier. Also, stop trying to keep up with the jones. Something new comes out, we want it, we hear of someone shopping, we want to go. Every dog has their day, and you should shop, and you should get the things you want when you've worked so hard, just factor it into your budget, or save up for it, you'll appreciate it more. My favorite thing in the world is to bargain shop. THERE IS ALWAYS A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE. Get thrifty, and trendy. Try Ebay, Craigslist, Overstock, Amazon, Target, or even Goodwill. When a fashion or product hits the market, it spreads like a wildfire, it will turn up everywhere, in just about every price range, choose wisely.
WARNING: Stay away from credit cards, especially store cards.
Major stress-ers! If you can't pay for it now, you probably won't be able to pay for it later.
Junk Stress...
Get organized! Talk about a major de-stress-er, it's so nice to look for something and find it in a particular spot...every.single.time. I was so bad with my school loan papers, tax forms, and you name it really, that I was not only stressing myself out, but my family. My sister broke down and bought me a very inexpensive, fashionable, file folder, and now I know where all my information will be...every.single.time. Not only does being organized help with important documents, when you organize your house, car, and nick knacks, you don't get that stressful, frustrating, feeling of having to remember where you put something...ten years ago. Even the simplest form of organization, such as a key rack or storage box, could make the biggest difference. Shelf, lock box, file cabinet, shoe rack, de junk and get out of that funk.
Out with old, in with the new?
Go through your things and have a garage sale for stuff you don't need anymore, "One mans toxic sludge is another mans potpourri." Not only will you de-junk, but you'll have a little extra moo-lah.
People Stress...
Whether you are a social butterfly, or an introvert, we need that social interaction with people...and the time away. We love our families, we love our friends, we love our coworkers, we love our husbands/boyfriends, but too much of even the best thing, can be a bad thing. Sometimes it is good to just take some time from yourself, even just an hour, to silence the stress of the world, and do the things you love, "recharge your battery" if you will. If you work at a high demanding job, or basically anywhere really, it's hard sometimes not to get stressed out. Sometimes we carry our problems to work with us,or sometimes we just can't handle that one customer that gets under our skin, and makes you want to use nasty words, then quite your job. Don't let those people make you feel inferior, because then you are not only giving them the satisfaction of seeing you upset, but you also look like a potty mouth, and you don't have a job...stress you out big time. Take a deep breath, count to ten, smile your face off, and let it go, I'm talking to you grudge holders. Find some hilarity in the issue, be thankful you're not that embarrassing, and know how to control your hormones. The best thing I did after the holiday was to take a vacation, or even a few days off, to balance out my equilibrium, it definitely helps. I came back to work with a better attitude and a better insight. Sometimes all we need is a break, in the form of days off, a massage, or a sleep in. Don't feel bad for wanting some time for yourself, a little peace and quiet, it's natural, and necessary.
Weight loss stress...
Busting it up at the gym, eating right, staying on track, talk about hard work. Even when we are on our best behavior, we all slip up. It's hard not to get devastated when you're working out like a maniac, and not losing weight, or just finding time to get healthy period. Let's face it, being healthy can be expensive, and even if you scrounged up some extra money for the gym, who can find time every single day to workout. My beautiful sisters and their friends have made amazing weight loss progress, with reasonable conditions, and flexibility. While a number of them are on Weight Watchers, some of them just choose to count calories, portions, and squeeze in some kind of exercise at least 4 to 5 times a week. Point being, both effective weight loss strategies are very similar, and effective. They both let you eat things you love, in moderation, require some form of exercise, and give you room for slip ups, we are all human after all. There is no such thing as a diet, or magic weight loss pill, it's a lifestyle change and exercise, just to clear that up. Take baby steps, find what works for you. Don't stress out if you don't see results right up front, Rome wasn't built in a day, all hard work will pay off. As my oldest sister, and almost life time Weight Watchers member, says, "Keep your eye on the prize." Post that not so sexy picture of yourself on the fridge, track your eating so you know what's going in, make time to exercise, even if its in the form of a walk around the block, or biggest loser video. Start out slow and work your way up, make incentives for yourself, get motivated, and never give up. Don't starve yourself, it just makes more room for binge eating, and your metabolism retaliates. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but anything worth having is worth fighting for. Ask yourself this, how bad do you really want it? How hard are you willing to work? Hard work WILL pay off, "Keep your eye on the prize!"
