5 ways to avoid stress

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Have you experienced starting a day in a bad mode?  Do you experience having lost your temper even before you reach school, office or place of work?

As parents, do you experience feeling bad early in the morning for one reason or another?

At one time I received a very familiar visitor.  Well, she was one of my teachers who rushed to my office right after the bell of the first period.  Herr day started really bad.  A complaint from a parent before she entered the class, the misbehaviour of the students and her health welcomed her day.  The litany went on.  After listening to her, I suggested  that she will take a deep breath, try to assess the situation on a positive note and save her energy for the rest of the day.  Note that it was just first period in the morning.

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Everybody experiences bad days.  As teachers, we are not spared from this.  There are days when even just the first period  our days are almost over, I mean our energy is already spent.  Sometimes, just one particular student can drain our energy. Right?

These scenarios are examples of how we invest our energy which come from our energy bank account.  I learned this thing in our seminar today on life transition.  If we spend our precious energy on matters that do not give so much value, we might run out of energy before the day ends.

Thus, we need to have a proper handling of our energy and spend it wisely to sustain us in our daily undertakings.  You can do the following:

1.  Morning Ritual.  The moment you wake in the morning start with positive outlook in life.  Before doing anything like preparing food or doing personal necessities, you pray first.  This way your day starts with the Lord.

2. Do not watch news on TV.  This might be difficult for many people especially that watching television seems to be part of the morning ritual.  Have you ever noticed that news in radio and TV usually report bad news?  What you see will affect your brain’s focus.  Negative news can influence negative thoughts, which could lead to negative words or actions.

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3.  Declare a blessing.  Learn from preachers and priests.  For example, the first words you hear from the priest during mass is “The Lord be with you.”  It is a declaration.  Pastors do the same.  I hear pastors saying, “Today, I declare blessings to come to your life.”  You can do that too.  After your morning prayer, declare to yourself that your day will be full of blessings.

4. Say positive words. First, avoid negative words.  Uttering bad words is really a curse on you and those around you.  Instead, proclaim goodness.  Appreciate.  Always say “thank you.”

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5.  Greet people with a smile.  I have a teacher before who never smiles.  We greet her and she will just nod her head but never smiles at us.  The other teacher, of course our favorite one, already smiles even before we can greet her.  You want to spend your energy and even recharge it?  Greet people well with a smile.  By doing so you spread positive energy and get it in return. 

But before doing the aforementioned suggestions, you better ask yourself this question.  What usually wears out my energy?   

May you have a wonderful day, everyday.

May your dreams be blessed.

Randy T