Whew! We made it y'all! It is finally Friday. Today I thought I would share some of my tips on managing stress. Jordan and I both work full time jobs while starting and growing our farm. I work as a clinical informatics analyst and he is an ER nurse. We are always busy and our jobs are definitely stressful. So how do we handle it all? Well today I am going to share our top seven de-stressing techniques.
Before I get into that list I want to start with some encouragement. It's easy in today’s hustle-oriented world to feel like you have to do it all and have it all, right now. That is just not realistic and honestly not healthy. I have to tell myself all the time- Don't try to meet the expectation of a world that doesn't have your best interests in mind. Don't get me wrong, the world of social media has some great resources and I have connected with people who have helped us on our farm journey. Social media is also host to several unrealistic, fake, and flat out wrong resources too. Be aware of who you are listening to and who you are allowing to create the narrative in your life. Find people who encourage you and inspire you. Most importantly, be you.
Ok, now let's talk about some ways to de-stress.
Breathe- This is the absolute easiest and cheapest things you can do to decrease your stress. Have you ever done a deep breathing exercise? I love them. I do these daily and some times multiple times a day. If you need some exercise examples you can try this out, or just google "Breathing Exercises" for more examples.
Take a walk- If you are able, go outside and walk around for 5-10 minutes. Don't look at your phone. Look at the world around you. Observe the sky, the trees, the animals you see or hear. Let the stress melt away.
Listen to music- I personally am a music lover. I collect vinyl records and absolutely love the way music can tell a story without the need for words. Music is one of my favorite ways to escape stress. There is so much access to music today that you can just ask Alexa or Siri to play whatever you like, or if you are into tangible- throw on a record and enjoy.
Write it out- Journaling is a great way to release the stress. Sometimes all we need is just to get it out and let it go. I am not much into physically writing, so I just open the Notes app on my phone and use the microphone option to talk it out. This helps me decompress and sometimes I even find a solution to a problem that has been causing me stress.
Help out a friend/neighbor- This may sound counter-productive but I am telling you it works. It shifts the focus from your stress onto helping someone out. Taking our eyes off the source of stress is automatically going to decrease it.
Hanging out with friends/family- If you are able to be with people who speak joy and life into your soul, do it. Find your people and do life together. We are beyond blessed to have some of our greatest friends only a few miles away.
Play a game- Any game lovers here? We have a plethora of game options. Personally the games that help me destress are the fast-paced card/dice games. If you are able, invite some friends over to play too!
These are some of my favorites de-stress games:
There are honestly so many other ways people manage their stress but these are my favorite. I hope you find these helpful and practical. Do you have a favorite de-stressing technique? Share in the comments below.
How can I pray for you this week?
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