From the Inside Out

All day yesterday, I was working hard trying to do chores around the house. When I finally took off my shoes around 10:00 last night, I noticed that my socks were on backwards. They were turned inside out. I never do this! I had to laugh at myself. I went all day and hadn’t noticed what I had done because I was so focused on what had to be completed. Wash clothes, prepare food, make a pie for school, tend to a sick child, tend to the baby, have a phone meeting, run errands, start packing and the list goes on...

There is always something to do, somewhere to go, and somebody to talk to but there is only one you. The holidays often make it worse. During the holidays, we often put more on ourselves to make sure that everything is in order and ready. I too am guilty of this. But, at some point you need to stop and be still. Being still allows you to gather your thoughts and think more clearly.

There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive. If you are busy, you most likely are trying to multitask and get as much done as you possibly can. This has its drawbacks because often times, something or someone else suffers when you are just busy. None of your attention is focused on just one thing and frustration sets in, because you simply can’t get everything done in the time you would like.

Productivity on the other hand, allows you to plan and pace yourself. You lose the “I have to do everything mentality” and start delegating tasks to other people to assist you. You never know who is willing to help you if you don’t ask. Our pride can keep us busy and sick which is the result of stress. Stress happens internally but it shows up externally through behavior and physical ailments. In other words, stress happens from the inside out.

While I wish we could go through life and never encounter any stress, I know that this is impossible. Thankfully, there are better ways to manage it. Here are a few ways to manage stress that I learned from a conference I attended:

1. Accept what you cannot control.

2. Manage your time more effectively.

3. Prioritize yourself. Put you on your calendar.

4. Saying no sometimes is okay. "No" is a complete sentence.

5. Set boundaries.

You might think to yourself as I have often almost everyday…can I really implement any of this? Well, stress is a silent killer that has been the root of many premature deaths.

Here is a sample list of health problems that have been determined to be related to stress according to WebMD:

1. Diabetes

2. Obesity

3. Depression/Anxiety

4. Alzheimer’s

5. Headaches

6. Gastrointestinal problems (ulcers)

7. Heart Disease

Now, the choice is yours. Working on yourself from the inside out can help you in the long run. I personally struggle with finding better ways to manage stress, but I am trying and I urge you to do so as well. For me, taking the time to actually write this blog post forced me to be still because I was just going to wait until the next post in December (I was too busy LOL!).

So, let’s try to find ways to live our best lives. Our lives literally depend on it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and Ladder Up 😊!

Rosalind

Psalm 107:28-29 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.