Let’s face it, the role of women today is more complex and tumultuous than previous generations. Women must wear many hats, whether it be as a doting mother, an understanding wife, or a hard-working professional – if the life of woman could be succinctly characterized by a single word it would be “sacrifice.”
I recently penned a short poem depicting the life of women and inspired by my very own mother, who sacrificed much of her life to give our family a better life:
“You wake up in the morning still half asleep
Rush to the bathroom brush your teeth,
No time to think or meditate,
The breakfast must be made for the kids won’t wait,
Remember the meeting at 10 o’clock
Got to dress extra-special for that,
I’m seeking a promotion for we need the money,
Must drop you to school a little early, honey.
But hurry my dear we can’t be late,
Today is a really important date
Yet I feel so tired, so worn, so lost
Painful and depressed, is it worth the cost?
I feel like a rusty wound up toy,
Heading for promotion but having no joy.”
For all you mothers out there who are stretched think from work and familiar duties, here are 13 thing that you can incorporate to reduce stress, increase energy and attain a brighter, more contextual perspective to your busy life from morning, through the work day, and finally, at home:
1. Decide firmly today that your health and energy are your first priority – not money or status or title or job. Money is useless unless you can turn it into joy. Choose what is most important and stick to that – Recommit to the adage “health first.” This decision alone will make you feel better. Even the passion to answer the every call of your baby must be balanced with the wisdom of being around and healthy.
2. Establish 3 pillars of health in your life and do NOT deviate from them – daily exercise, prudent eating and a scientific technique to dispel stress.
3. Wake up slowly and take 3 minutes not to ponder the day but to attend to the machine that makes it all possible. Breathe deeply in thru your nose as you lie or sit on the bed, and focus on your body as you breathe.
4. Imagine yourself at work doing your tasks but see yourself functioning calmly and effectively. Believe that you a going to have a healthy and productive day
5. Your energy is linked to your emotions so decide what emotions you are going to allow to dominate your day. Ditch any feelings of anger, or hostility, self doubt or hatred and fill your mind with a sense of joy, hope confidence and loving kindness.
6. Monitor your energy throughout the day – notice how much energy you have. Rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 and when your energy is beginning to dip below 5, do something to recharge. Tense your body and take a deep breath and relax. Repeat this a few times. Raise both arms, palms together and touch the sky. Drink 3 glasses of water.
7. When you are tired your sympathetic tone is too high. This means you are becoming a victim of stress. Stop right away and lower the sympathetic tone in your body. Here is an exercise to do that: Make a tight fist and tense your legs. Take a deep breathe and then relax and continue while saying to yourself, “breathing in I observe my body and mind, breathing out I smile and relax.” Do this throughout the day and you will shift into a lower gear – a lower sympathetic tone.
8. Practice cortical specificity – whatever you are doing focus on it single mindedly. Whereever you are be fully there. Where awareness goes energy flows.
9. Don’t work, work, work. Punctuate your activities with rest and you will surprisingly accomplish more.
10. Move from the center of your body. If you are working with your hands imagine the energy and power to work is coming from deep inside your abdomen. Connect as you work from the inside out.Use only the muscles that you have to. If you are typing, tense your fingers yes, but keep your face, legs and abdomen relaxed. Learn this sentence and make it a part of your everyday life, “ Use only the muscles that you have to.”
Diet and exercise are important in energy generation and I will talk about how you can best use these to your advantage in upcoming versions of the Happiness Report. Stay tuned and stay stress free.