Managing your stressful situations

Good evening Celebrators! How are you on the unexpectedly cool evening? I don't know about you but I expect better from April 2024: I'm starting to feel let down! 🤔

And herein lies the angle from which I'll chat to you about stress and it's effects on you and those around you. Now, please bear in mind, I'm no expert and I'm only throwing in my two-penneth-worth: but years and years of stressful situations have made me an expert in managing my own stress and recognising when it's time to address it.

So, let's just get to a decent starting point shall we? The digression itself is starting to stress some of you out I'm sure! See what I did there? I picked out some of you, but not all...

And that -my friends- is the key, ta-daa moment I want you to recognise. Stress, frustration and angst are all experienced by each of us in different ways, what Jane copes with, Nadim might struggle with. It doesn't mean Jane is stronger or Nadim might be weaker, it simply means we experience stress uniquely. (Sorry if your name is Jane or Nadim: all characters are fictional!)

Earlier, I said that I have had many years of working with the things that stress me out and my colleagues will tell you that I am prone to fret over some of what they think are the smallest things. But to me, I recognise that what's seemingly small, is a lynchpin in my stress-triggers and I fret about these things in order to manage them and control the looming stress I'd have to deal with if I didn't! Do you understand where I'm coming from?

It's a strength to be able to pre-empt your own triggers and thereby, act to minimise the impact. Many of us are able to identify those things in advance. But, do you know what I consider the most stressful thing to have to cope with?

Self Expectations

We have this idea that we should just be able to do things. To be adults. I think the youngers call it: ADULTING?

I know folk who bury their heads and don't think they have the strength to tackle the issues they know they need to. Trust me, avoiding the tough stuff only makes it worse and it's hard work on your psyche to keep up the illusion that all's good in the hood!

I've lost count of the times I've heard people say that getting older doesn't mean we have all the answers. So many of us think that there's this point in life where we just KNOW STUFF and every one of us knows it's a fallacy! We're all bumbling along hoping that what we do works out! (At this point, I realise my use of the casual exclamation mark has become a marked concern!!)

Let's reassure ourselves with the knowledge that we know we'll not have all the answers and that we will indeed frequently fall short of our lofty expectations, because in doing so, we can stop with the big goals and address each small step in chronological order, step by step and allow ourselves to cope better.

Seriously... Who wouldn't be overwhelmed and stressed thinking about planning a wedding or a funeral? But... Break it down and realise that so few of us are experts then you can take a breath to to deal with the small steps. Got to plan a wedding? Start with a date. Ok, let's go for location next. Now, let's think about the service.... Each step makes the stress easier to handle.

I'm the annoying optimist (most of the time) and it's with absolute certainty that I'm here to tell you, warmer days are on their way, more sunshine is coming and April 2024 will soon be just a memory. Besides, without the rain, how will the flowers of tomorrow grow?

LoveYouLots!

K