Season's Beatings: Unconventional Wisdom About Stress Relief #1

Image by Azmi Talib from Pixabay

A blast from the recent past! This blog originally appeared in November 2017, hopefully the words are even more relevant today.  There are seven blogs in this series and they will all be republished between now and the New Year. So let me be the first to say, SEASON’S BEATINGS!  Enjoy, ks

Hello Friends,

Yep, I’m gonna stick my toe in the water of stress-relief suggestions. ‘Tis the season to get worked up and fall apart.

Is this really necessary?

If you are like me at all, then yes of course you need to get worked up and fall apart and spend the holidays sick and tired. OK, the correct answer is actually NO. You, I, us… don’t need to get worked up and fall apart at all. So for the next several weeks, I, your fearless tour guide into Better Living, will be offering advice. Yes indeed, free advice is often the best. Sorry to all my consultant friends!

So here we go. Let’s start with driving.

I drive down 12th Ave. in Nampa several times a day and there are four traffic lights and one very annoying pedestrian crossing light at the high school. My chronic beef with this main thoroughfare in south Nampa is… why can’t these lights be synced? I have driven from one side of Boise to the other with lights that allow forward progress. How hard can it be? Doesn’t matter, must be real hard because it hasn’t been done. So I write speeches in my head to the mayor that I never send. I complain to myself and act astonished every day. Why am I surprised that they are not synced? They were not synced yesterday, nor are they likely to be synced tomorrow. WHY DO I ACT SURPRISED EVERYDAY? Surprises can be stressful. So I now say to myself, STOP BEING SURPRISED! How strange to expect something different. There are days (very rare), however, when I sail thru all the lights, as if by magic. Now that is a surprise. So here is my advice- drum roll please…..

Stop being surprised! (Special thanks to my fishing buddy Greg B. who tells me to stop being surprised when I catch a fish; we are fishing after all. Did you think you would catch a deer? )

Traffic during this time of year is slower, and faster, and more distracted. Don’t expect anything other than setbacks and interruptions. Really, set your mind to be interrupted, to be inconvenienced, to be cut off, maybe even flipped off. Just take it. Smile. Relax. And don’t be surprised!

Season’s Beatings!

ks