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“If I waved a magic wand during the night and when you woke up in the morning the majority of your stress had dissipated, what would be the first sign you would notice in the morning that let you know that things were getting better?” I asked her.
 
“Well,” she said, “I would probably feel well rested.”
 

Your Life, Unlimited

 
About This Series
of Articles
 
This series of articles will provide insights and strategies for better living as well as skills for life enrichment. Topics to be covered in this series include: how to enhance the relationships in your life, how to improve your communication skills, how to develop empowering ideas and to act on those thoughts, and how to inject humour, fun, excitement into your life. ... Read More About  Your Life, Unlimited 
 
 
  
 
 About

Stephanie Staples

 
Stephanie Staples is a member of Rockford Kingsley's Advisory Board and is a proud Canadian coach and speaker who helps audiences around North America shift their perspective and kick up the quality of their life! Visit www.YourLifeUnlimited.ca for your complimentary Quality of Life Assessment.  
 

 

 

 
  

Your Life Unlimited

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Your Life, Unlimited 

 

Stephanie Staples

 
 

Small Choices Make BIG Life Changes!

 
 
Carla was stressed. She was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. As a busy professional, mom, wife, volunteer and not to mention chief butcher, baker and candlestick maker, she was used to doing it all and being everything to everybody. When she came to me she was finally at the point where something had to give or she was going to break.
 
“If I waved a magic wand during the night and when you woke up in the morning the majority of your stress had dissipated, what would be the first sign you would notice in the morning that let you know that things were getting better?” I asked her.
 
“Well,” she said, “I would probably feel well rested.”
 
Ah-ha, a great place to start! If you slept better, you would feel better, look better, have more patience and your body and mind would be rejuvenated and refreshed – just to name a few things.
 
Assuming Carla is not the only one with this problem, I present to you 5 small ideas that worked for her and can have a BIG impact on your world too.
 
1.    
Choose Acceptance (and a Mantra!) – ‘Everything that needed to get done today was done today and everything else will be there tomorrow.’ Repeat, repeat, repeat until you understand that it is true. You will never be done with everything you want to do so do what you can then go to bed!onsider time your friend, not your nemesis. Shift the way you look at time and it will be much easier to ‘find’ time.
2.  
Develop a Routine – not unlike when we get the kids ready for bed, initiating a routine for ourselves to ease us into bedtime is a useful idea to help us wind down. It might look something like this: one hour before bed all screens are turned off, take 20 minutes to get things lined up for the next day, take the next 20 minutes for our night-time hygiene ‘business,’ and take the last 20 minutes for something relaxing – read, pray, meditate …
3.   
Gratitude Journal - writing down 5 things you are grateful before going to bed can completely change your mindset from ‘the list of things I didn’t get done’ or the ‘list of things I have to do tomorrow’ to the ‘list of things to be thankful for’. This habit will help you replace all the 'busy' talk running around in your head - go to sleep easily with the visions of appreciation, not chores, dancing through your head. 
4.     
Get an Accountability Partner - make it fun, draw on your competitive nature, make it a contest, help a friend. Set a bedtime or an amount of hours of sleep you want to get (pre-loading this information will help shift your mindset and make it much more likely that you will succeed) and log whether you hit the target or not. Check in with your buddy once a week to hold each other accountable for sticking your goal.
5. 
Time for a Reward – More sleep and less stress should be reward in itself, but still – having a pre-planned incentive for looking after yourself and setting a good example for your family is a great way to celebrate your accomplishment.
 
Journaling, routines, acceptance, accountability and rewards are 5 small things you can integrate into any area of your life where you would like to see some positive change.  And with a busy fall about to start again, you will need every bit of extra energy you can get!
 
It worked for Carla and it could work for you, too!
 
 
 
 
 

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