The Countdown

Hello! Hope everyone is enjoying this Tuesday! It’s rainy and rather blah here today, but luckily I don’t have to be out in it much. It’s a study day…and speaking of school, the countdown is on baby. I knocked out my two hardest finals yesterday (Chem and Psychology), leaving me with 3 more to complete before I’m D.O.N.E. Can I just say how absolutely ahhhhmazing it feels to be finished with chemistry?!?! Well, of course I still have more ahead of me with my dietetics major, but this particular course is done and over with and one major step closer! I can’t believe I made it out alive. In the beginning of the semester, I was 98.9% sure I would not pass the class and have to take it all over again next semester. Someone was definitely looking out for me! It’s hasn’t been easy…or fun…it took a few meltdowns and highly dramatic rants, but hey, whatever it takes right?

With everyone frantically hustling and bustling around, trying to finish up things before winter break, it’s no wonder that stress has been in the air. It’s also probably safe to say I’ve looked like this more than a few times lately:

I’ve still got 1,643,438 hours left of studying…you think I have time for hair?!?

Luckily there are ways to deal and makes things a bit more manageable. Even if you aren’t a student dealing with finals week, it’s an all-around stressful time of year and I think we could all use a few tips on how to better manage ourselves.

My Top 5 Stress Busters

1. Imagine success. When you think of yourself achieving whatever your goals may be, you are actually more likely to have it happen in reality. The power is in positive thinking!

2. Move it. Even though things are crazy busy, I always make exercise a priority because it never fails to lift my mood and make me more energized and able to tackle everything on my to-do list. Without exercise, I often get very crabby and am not a fun person to be around. Even if it’s just a light walk, ANY exercise is good exercise and will make you feel better instantly.

3. Don’t Procrastinate. I find that stress surmounts very easily when I put off the things that I need to get accomplished. Think about how good you will feel once you get *insert task* done. If you get right to it, then it will be off your mind and you’ll be free!

4. Deep Breaths. It’s no wonder why yogis are so calm and peaceful. There really is something amazing about taking the time to just breath. It’s kind of funny actually; breathing is something that we have to do all day, every day to stay alive, but many of us get too busy with other things to really do it well enough. I challenge you to take just a few minutes every day to completely shut off your mind and focus on taking slow deep breaths. I betcha you’ll feel like a whole new person. 🙂

5. Talk. Again, this seems like an obvious one, but sometimes I tend to shut myself off to the world when I get stressed and overwhelmed. “don’t talk to me” or “leave me alone.” Sound familiar? You may think you want to be alone, but actually you will probably feel a lot better if you let someone in and talk about what’s bothering you. You may be surprised to find that: 1.) getting things off your chest is WAY better than keeping things bottled up inside. and 2.) people want to help you. So let them!

Life is too short to spend it being stressed out. Don’t forget to let go and live a little…scratch that. A LOT!

What is your tried and true stress reliever?

Kristi