Stress Relief is Just a Laugh Away

CareerBuilder (CB) did a survey of human resource managers on quirky requests by employees. Here is my top 10 from the CB list.

1. Allow clothes changing in cubicles
2. Tanning bed in the break room
3. Beer in the vending machine
4. Request to have jail covered under Family Medical Leave Act
5. Instituting Bikini Fridays
6. Time off to pursue side business as a clown
7. Replace desk with a futon so employee could lie down and work
8. Request to only be required to work during daylight hours because employee is scared of the dark.
9. Request for a special smoking area for medical marijuana.

10. 10.Request to have the team meeting to be held in Hawaii.

You just know number 5 was a submitted by a guy! Although if number 1 is approved, he might just get number 5!

Keeping your spirits up is crucial when job-hunting. Actively seek out amusing things like the above list. It will make you smile and relieve your stress. Speaking of stress ...

Two weeks ago I talked about Holiday Stress. My local newspaper, the Sacramento Bee had an article today on, “Don’t let stress ruin holidays.” Here is the link to the full story. Here are some highlights and additional comments.

Simplify. Be courageous and say "no" to excessive obligations or overindulgence. Downsize your obligations so you can up-size your fun.

Boost your energy with exercise. Find ways to incorporate 30 minutes of exercise into your daily regimen, even if it means parking far away in the mall parking lot. You will decrease your stress levels and increase your energy.

Sleep seven to eight hours a night. Chronic sleep deprivation increases fatigue and stress.

Continued sleep deprivation can result in trouble concentrating, blurry vision, impaired judgment, and even more severe mental effects. After just a few days of no sleep, people can begin to experience hallucinations, mania, and nausea. Luckily, if you repay your sleep debt right away, those effects vanish immediately. The immune system is also thought to be maintained while asleep; people who don’t get enough sleep tend to be more susceptible to infections and have slower healing times.

Sleep deprivation also has an effect on how the brain stores information. A study showed that those who were taught a task and allowed to sleep afterward remembered what they had learned better than those that didn’t sleep. Among school-aged children, those who get even one less hour of sleep than their peers have shown to perform more poorly on tests of memory and attention.

Get some sunlight. Make sure you are in the sun at least 20 minutes a day to help boost your vitamin D and maintain your diurnal rhythm and mood.

Take time for you. Try to get 20 minutes a day to yourself, away from TV. Meditate or listen to your favorite music – it will help you decompress. Break it into two segments: try 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night. I do my time at sunrise and in the evening about 12 hours later. It balances my day and keeps me on an even keel. I’m alone at sunrise, which means I’m uninterrupted! Bonus.

Rethink your spending. A consumer study in October by Context-Based Research Group showed, surprisingly, that many people feel the recession has positively affected their mood. Many are focused on doing meaningful activities in place of spending: 50 percent of adults plan to give gifts in the form of volunteering, and 80 percent are spending more time with their family and friends this year.

See your doctor if increasing depression, anxiety, fatigue or stress is affecting your relationships with others, your performance at work or your health.

Practice gratitude. Learn to love each moment and to live a life you love. This is an amazing de-stressor.

Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” This also applies to you and your life. Don’t put it off. Don’t wait until … you’ve lost weight; after the holidays; when “I’m not so stressed out”; you get a job/better job; or whatever your "something" is gets improved. Just start doing the change you want in your life.

What are you grateful for? How often do you ask yourself and others this powerful question? Sadly, many of us don’t take the time to ask or answer this question on a regular basis – especially in the midst of these difficult times.

Thanksgiving is a perfect time to spend some time acknowledging what you’re grateful for this week and over the next few weeks during the holiday season. However, focusing on gratitude is something that we can do all the time, not just on special occasions or during holidays. Sadly, we often feel “funny” or get embarrassed expressing our appreciation and gratitude. Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions and states of beings we have access to.

Gratitude not only makes us feel good, it’s also one of the greatest attractors of abundance, love, peace, success, health, connection, and more. The more we focus on what we already have, the wonderful aspects of our lives, and what we appreciate; the more we end up having to be grateful for. Stop for a moment right now and think about some of the things that you’re grateful for in your own life. Make a list – either in your head or on paper. We each have so much. When we take the time to acknowledge our many blessings, we utilize the power of gratitude in a way that benefits us and those around us in a profound way.

An Attitude of Gratitude. We can expand our capacity for gratitude in our lives by creating simple and genuine practices. It doesn’t really matter what we do or how we do it, just that we come up with easy and meaningful ways to focus on what we’re grateful for all the time. Below is a short list of some different possible gratitude practices. Pick one, many or choose something else:

• Write cards or emails expressing your gratitude for others – and do this for no specific reason or occasion
• Meditate/pray and focus on what you’re grateful for
• Have everyone at the dinner table share something they’re grateful before you eat (or go around in the car or other times you’re together with your family and play this “grateful game”)
• Ask people what they’re grateful for (and/or ask this question as part of your outgoing voice mail message)
• Use a “gratitude journal” and write in it regularly

While so many of us understand and know about the power of gratitude, it’s the practice and expression of it that really has impact. When we take the time to think about, feel, and express our gratitude and appreciation for life, others, and ourselves – we can literally transform our lives and relationships in a beautiful way.

Let me know how your job hunt is going. What are your particular challenges? What is your attitude of gratitude? Send me an email to eal@EALCoaching.com . I’d love to know how you are doing and what strategies you are using.

A dream with a plan is a goal. A goal without a plan is just a dream.

Warmly, Elisabeth Elisabeth Adler-Lund Executive And Life Coaching Telephone: 916 • 803•1494 E-mail: eal@EALCoaching.com