How To Relieve Stress

How To Relieve STressHow to Relieve Stress -1: Clear your mind

We live a world full of stress, and sometimes, its hard to know how to relieve stress in our lives

As with most things, what works for some may not work for all, but I want to share with you something that always works for me.

Today I went for a long walk.

I find that walking is a great way to reduce stress.

It doesn’t matter where – just somewhere quiet with no distractions. Somewhere you can escape the stress of modern life..

How To Relieve Stress

Today I happened to be near the coast, so I walked down to the beach. It’s cold at this time of year, so it was fairly deserted. There were a few people here and there, but I pretty much had the space to myself, in front of me all I could see were the crashing waves, to the left and right, stretches of wet white sand, only a few people dotted here and there, walking dogs or out strolling with partners and family.

I strolled along the sand and back again. Pretty aimlessly I guess, but for me, it’s how to relieve stress easily..

Nowhere to go.

No time pressure,

Nothing to worry about.

Time to walk and contemplate.

How to Relieve Stress – 2: Take time out

How To Relieve Stress

We don’t often take a time out and appreciate where we are and the things that we have right now. Often, we are far too busy to stop and smell the roses as the say, we think that that meeting or that shopping trip just cannot wait, we fill days with appointments and work and all the vital things that we believe we need to do each day.

Take a look at your diary or your planner.

Is it like mine all filled up with work appointments, and things I have to do with the family or with friends?

It’s all stress, stress and more stress

Is there any time blocked out just for you?

To be you. To relax, to de-stress?

 

How to Relieve Stress – 3: focus on your mental wellbeing

The bottom line, whatever you do and however you spend your life, you are the most important vehicle to refuel.
If you are running on empty, you are not at your best and so those people and events won’t be getting your best either.

We mostly get that when it comes to the physical – we eat (not always well and not always regularly), we drink – we refuel our bodies.

But what about our minds?

We all seem to forget about that, we are so busy planning the next step, the next decision, the next product launch and fitting that into our already crowded and busy lives that often we forget that the whole reason we are doing this in the first place is to live our lives, not work them or stress them.

I walked up and down for a while, trying not to think of much at all. Just strolling, No stress. No pressure

After a while I looked at my watch and a couple of hours had passed.

I hadn’t done anything, couple of hours, except stroll. No interruptions, no distractions although I did find myself stopping and watching the waves for a while.

I didn’t really pay attention but it seemed to me that couples and families and dogs of all different sizes all came and went in quick succession.

Did they find a few minutes in an otherwise overcrowded and stressful day because they had to walk a dog?
Or did they find those minutes because they wanted to live in those moments, to just do whatever way gives them that peaceful joy?

How to Relieve Stress – 4: Lessons from our Elders

An elderly couple arrived on the beach just before me, and sat on a bench staring at the sea.

They were still there, sitting hand in  hand when I walked back past.

I couldn’t help but be moved by them.

Here, they have gotten past all the distractions, and now they understand. Now they are enjoying that which is really important, each other and the lives they have together. I have often heard the phrase that youth is wasted on the young, this couple were the living embodiment of being young and carefree. They don’t need to know how to relieve stress, because they don’t have any!.

Most of us in our lives and businesses are still working towards that future.,

But if we don’t learn how to relieve stress, we may never get there, or by the time we do, out loved ones have long gone, fed up with the constant stress, the constant pressure.

How To Relieve Stress – 5: Find your own Way, and DO IT

How To Relieve Stress

So I recommend that you try to find a little bit of that life, that magic everyday and make the time to live it to the fullest, nothing else is more important.

Not even that campaign that you absolutely have to get launched right now.

Fifteen minutes won’t kill you, the stress of not taking them, might.

Find how to relieve stress in your life.

Find something for you and only you that will help you to relax and feel refreshed.

The stress will still be there when you go back in, but you’ll be much better able to deal with it!

Learn how to relieve stress for yourself.

 

 

 

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One thought on “How To Relieve Stress

  1. David Wakeman

    March 4, 2018 at 10:02pm

    Hello Carl,

    Great article. I like to walk when I am stressed. When my wife and I take a vacation we go to the beach and forget about all the issues, troubles and things we know we need to do. We walk for hours along the beach and enjoy the sunshine and the warmth.

    I agree we need to find that inner peace that will allow us the time to rejuvenate our brain cells.

    Life is too short and we tend to forget that as we pursue the next opportunity.

    Thanks.

    David

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  2. Nancy Cleary

    June 8, 2018 at 5:48pm

    These are all good reminders, Carl. I am a part-time online marketer but my full-time job for the past 15 years has been as a mental health professional. The funny thing is that it is a very stressful profession and difficult to heed the advice about stress you provide to others. Even though taking time out is very much supported by the company I work for, at times, there are simply not enough hours in the day. Still, I have found it is important to go ahead and take time out anyway because it really does make me more productive and less stressed. Sometimes things are less stressful when I return to my work when I take the time to decompress.

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    • Author

      Carl

      June 17, 2018 at 3:20pm

      Thanks Nancy. De-stressing matters to all of us, and we all have different ways of doing it.
      I’m sure you’ll agree that the most important think is that we take the time to de-stress.
      It doesn’t matter so much how.

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  3. Nick Roberts

    June 21, 2018 at 11:16am

    Hi Carl – I guess that when we are really busy we do not stop to think about ourselves. I am and always have been an early riser. Every morning I wake at about 5am and the first thing I do when I get up is to go for a walk. It gives me some ME time and really prepares me for the day. I think the rest of your article is very helpful and makes me stop and think what else I should be doing to relieve stress. Thanks – Nick

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  4. Tony Tydeman

    February 13, 2019 at 1:19pm

    Time out and exercise are great stress relief. Months after this topic, stress is still a controlling emotion for many people. Personally, I listen to Metallica. Blasts the stress right out. 🙂

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  5. Mark Harvey

    July 8, 2019 at 1:15am

    Stress is different for everybody. Some of us take it in stride and some internalize it which is the worst thing you can do. I have been in law enforcement for 28 years and the last 18 with the Vermont State Police. I have seen a lot over the last 28 years and the one thing I learned, is, A wise man said, “THE SECRET TO A HAPPY LIFE IS KNOWING THAT WE ARE NOT IN CONTROL” There is also another saying, “IF IT IS TO BE IT,IS UP TO ME” “WE OF ARE WHAT WE ARE BECAUSE OF WHAT GOES INTO OUR MINDS AND WE CAN CHANGE WHAT WE ARE AND WE CAN CHANGE WHERE WE ARE BY CHANGING WHAT GOES INTO OUR MINDS”

    Always talk to somebody if you are stressed. You can always talk to me!!!

    You have my name and email…

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  6. Jun

    July 21, 2019 at 2:28pm

    Hi Carl, nice reminder about relieving stress which truly is a killer huh?

    most specially on suggestion #2: Take time out

    I think vacations (not just a couple of days, but it helps too instead of having none) do help a lot to re-energize & relax..it does set me up to put in my calendar an out of town or perhaps an out of the country trip?

    Thanks

    Jun

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