Simplify life and decrease pain
It is no secret stress often leads to pain. It seems logical that reducing stress could lead to a more comfortable life. Is there some part of your life that seems to stress you more than others? Is there something that overwhelms you and adds stress and frustration to your life? Do you find yourself thinking you would feel better if you could just accomplish a particular task, reach a goal or see an achievement? How about your schedule? Is your life filled with demands from all angles? Do you run non-stop morning to night--day after day? Are your weekends spent trying to relax yet you feel guilty because you are? I have struggled with this and all of the stress does nothing to help with my chronic headaches and body aches.
I am messy. I tend to collect everything. Once I have it, I find every conceivable reason to keep it--real or imaginary. I don't dare get rid of anything for fear I may need it one day or I might miss reading something valuable or interesting. I have magazines that are years old. I have clothes that don't fit. I have receipts for groceries purchased months ago. I am drowning in paper and clutter. And it doesn't stop there. I recently wrote about cleaning out the clutter not too long ago and I felt so good about that accomplishment. But now, I see the problem is back and so is the frustration.
I recently read a great book called Simplify Your Life written by Marcia Ramsland. She pointed out different ways to simplify life and get organized. This book really got me thinking and planning. As I look around me I see a lot of work needing to be done in order to get my house the way I really want it to be. Up to now I have felt very overwhelmed by the tasks of maintaining my home alone. I often start projects only to find myself stopping before finishing. More often, however I don't even get started. This book helped me to take a look at why this might be happening.
I feel if I can get some things accomplished around my home, I will feel better in a lot of ways. I will cut down on my stress and frustration. My ability to relax will improve because I won't keep looking at things that remind me of all that needs to be done. Being able to relax will help me manage pain and difficulties when they do arise. So I decided to take some of Marcia's suggestions to heart.
I am very busy and one of the issues I have is trying to fit too much into a day. Doing so leaves no time for me to relax and enjoy myself. I need to become more realistic about my time. One of the things Marcia suggests is to manage my time both horizontally and vertically. It requires me to look at all the projects that need to be accomplished. And to look at my time--not just from day to night, but from week to month as well. Rather than overwhelm myself by trying to accomplish everything all at once, I need to break projects down into tasks that I can perform a little at a time as my time permits. Gosh I might even be able to accomplish a little bit each evening rather than wait until the weekend. This would give me a chance to really enjoy myself without feeling I really should be working at home instead. So I have created a list of projects that I need to get done. I am in the process of breaking them down into bite size tasks so I can get started on them. I am going to adjust my timeline to be more realistic this time and I am going to recognize my accomplishments and celebrate them as I go.
How about you? Do you have something that keeps bothering you? A huge project? Something you need to accomplish but just don't feel you can? Do you have a schedule that runs you into the ground? Do you have problems sleeping at night because you find yourself trying to figure out how you will meet deadlines, accomplish goals? Meet the demands placed upon you? If you answer yes to any of these questions, I encourage you to take some time to evaluate your situation. Simplifying your life will help you feel better in many ways. If you can't change your responsibilities, perhaps you can change the way you approach them. Explore alternative ways to achieve what you need to. Be realistic about time and abilities. Don't take on more than you can handle. See if you find yourself feeling better with a lighter load. Hopefully you will find less pain in your life by trying these life changes.
Indie
Related Topics: Feng Shui, 6 Tips for Better Time Management
I am messy. I tend to collect everything. Once I have it, I find every conceivable reason to keep it--real or imaginary. I don't dare get rid of anything for fear I may need it one day or I might miss reading something valuable or interesting. I have magazines that are years old. I have clothes that don't fit. I have receipts for groceries purchased months ago. I am drowning in paper and clutter. And it doesn't stop there. I recently wrote about cleaning out the clutter not too long ago and I felt so good about that accomplishment. But now, I see the problem is back and so is the frustration.
I recently read a great book called Simplify Your Life written by Marcia Ramsland. She pointed out different ways to simplify life and get organized. This book really got me thinking and planning. As I look around me I see a lot of work needing to be done in order to get my house the way I really want it to be. Up to now I have felt very overwhelmed by the tasks of maintaining my home alone. I often start projects only to find myself stopping before finishing. More often, however I don't even get started. This book helped me to take a look at why this might be happening.
I feel if I can get some things accomplished around my home, I will feel better in a lot of ways. I will cut down on my stress and frustration. My ability to relax will improve because I won't keep looking at things that remind me of all that needs to be done. Being able to relax will help me manage pain and difficulties when they do arise. So I decided to take some of Marcia's suggestions to heart.
I am very busy and one of the issues I have is trying to fit too much into a day. Doing so leaves no time for me to relax and enjoy myself. I need to become more realistic about my time. One of the things Marcia suggests is to manage my time both horizontally and vertically. It requires me to look at all the projects that need to be accomplished. And to look at my time--not just from day to night, but from week to month as well. Rather than overwhelm myself by trying to accomplish everything all at once, I need to break projects down into tasks that I can perform a little at a time as my time permits. Gosh I might even be able to accomplish a little bit each evening rather than wait until the weekend. This would give me a chance to really enjoy myself without feeling I really should be working at home instead. So I have created a list of projects that I need to get done. I am in the process of breaking them down into bite size tasks so I can get started on them. I am going to adjust my timeline to be more realistic this time and I am going to recognize my accomplishments and celebrate them as I go.
How about you? Do you have something that keeps bothering you? A huge project? Something you need to accomplish but just don't feel you can? Do you have a schedule that runs you into the ground? Do you have problems sleeping at night because you find yourself trying to figure out how you will meet deadlines, accomplish goals? Meet the demands placed upon you? If you answer yes to any of these questions, I encourage you to take some time to evaluate your situation. Simplifying your life will help you feel better in many ways. If you can't change your responsibilities, perhaps you can change the way you approach them. Explore alternative ways to achieve what you need to. Be realistic about time and abilities. Don't take on more than you can handle. See if you find yourself feeling better with a lighter load. Hopefully you will find less pain in your life by trying these life changes.
Indie
Related Topics: Feng Shui, 6 Tips for Better Time Management
4 Comments:
I agree that symplifying would make things a lot less stressful but, it isnt as easy as it seems. For me it doesnt matter how much I try to destress someone or something comes along to test my patients and my head starts to pounding again. i have tried everything from aspirin, Ibuprofen (both over-the-counter and perscription), hot and cold compresses, dark silence, bubble baths, candles, meditation visualization, massage, and anything else you can peobably name. What does one do once all the option have been exhausted.
Curtrina....I would say, look for "whats missing" and "whats wrong". It can be something Physical or Emotional that may bring stress, irritability, headaches, insomnia and so many other things...
I was having Headacahes for over a year and never had them before. So I never realized that actually I was hving headaches. One day I almost fainted, two days later happened again. I ended up in ER and they found a small Brain Cyst causing all the trouble.
I stilll have headaches, and all the worry that comes with the Cyst in Brain. But I know what it is, so I know what should I do about it....
Just a wel wisher...
I have had a headach for four weeks now. The dr. as ran all types of test and they finley found a cyst on the left side of my brain but because the pain is more on the right side the dr. is not concerned with this. I would think this would be of concern and might be the whole problem. I'v also been dizzy all the time and have passed out 7 times. there going to run more test including a spinale tap. I just need help in figureing out what this is and what to do about the cyst. please help H W
To heather:
Please visit Indie's Migraines board and post your question.
I hope you feel better soon!
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