Depress the Stress!

Stress – a word loosely used but felt with everyone. A fast-paced lifestyle, materialistic aspirations, excessive social media addiction are some of the contributors to stress in our lives. Why does stress take root? There are a load of answers to this question pointing to a very simple truth- Time for oneself. We make efforts to carry out humongous tasks in the day but we tend to miss out on a simple task of self-realization in the day. Acknowledging our presence and viewing day-to-day challenges as a part of life and not something bigger than ourselves is the first step towards relieving stress.

A few techniques have been propagated in the world to remove stress and live life in a better way. Some of them are:

ü Wake Up Early!

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.

- Benjamin Franklin.

A lot many of us find ourselves running to make it to our offices, colleges or schools in the morning. It seems as if a lot needs to be accomplished in a very short span of time. But only if we change our routine a wee bit, by waking up not more just an hour early, you will find that there is ample time for each of those tasks of the morning. There will be no rush. You will be relaxed and ready for the challenges to come.

ü Put that body to work

Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.

-Jim Rohn.

Yes, that load of muscles and fat you have been lugging around ain’t doing any good to you. It needs to be put to good use. Your body should be an asset, not a liability. Jog around your locality for 15 minutes or a brisk walk for 20 minutes can also do the trick. Begin your jog with a few warm up stretches and follow it with a few reps of body strength exercises and you are good to go. Make sure you don’t jump the rope with this, it can backfire if not done right and by right I mean, according to your body’s capabilities.

ü Meditate (become a silent sister…just kidding:-P)

                        

Within you, there is a stillness and a Sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.

-Hermann Hesse.

Meditation for a few minutes can do wonders to your inner self. It can bring peace and calm into your mind. And right there is where you need to be composed, to manage your day. Meditation enables us to manage ourselves before we set out to manage anything else. It brings harmony within. You learn to let go of the unimportant. If done right, you can even learn to manage your inner turmoil and not blow it up over the first guy you meet in the day. Plus it really helps us to gain clarity of one ’s self. The whys of abstract questions may take a bit of time to get answered but what meditation essentially brings is Peace within. Give it a go. Maybe it is what you have been waiting for all this time!

ü Read a book (Work your mind!)

                                                                       

A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.

-William Styron

I cannot emphasize on this enough! Reading provides us with a tranquil way of gaining a perspective. It trains us to not give into our emotions at the drop of a hat. Read a book and it will trigger a bundle of thoughts and feelings. But we keep going, reading further and in a way, we learn to manage them without acting out rashly. Also, while reading, we may gain a good thing or two which never hurts! So, in all, read and read until you become a better version of yourself, maybe a YOU-v1.1.1?

Picture Credits- Google Images.