Why would you stop and take a pause when you can keep dragging all that misery around with you? Sounds harsh? Not as harsh as what you might be doing to yourself.
Our body-mind connection is the engine that fuels us, and if you are keeping your body and mind continuously revved, look out. Either your body, think hypertension, rapid heart rate, sore back, neck; or your mind, think concentration and memory problems; and ultimately your spirit, think “there’s something wrong with me I can’t keep up, what is my problem?” will be affected.
Now you’re spending your energy defending against yourself, your inner dis-ease stress, not just external stressors. Your sympathetic nervous system is on overdrive, secreting adrenaline, cortisol, and sugars because it is on your side, it wants you to be safe; but it doesn’t know what and where the danger is. Blaming work overload, kids, the partner, the economy, yada,yada,yada puts you in a one down position, ie the victim. Unconsciously you’re sending messages to your system that there is danger, get prepared – but you are the danger! I’m not saying you don’t have overload from work and life obligations, but you do have the ability, and responsibility, to stop and pause.
Stress really does limit problem-solving abilities and the creation of positive relationships, and that creates more stressors, and now you are looping, going faster and faster to keep up with the new problems. STOP, PAUSE…
Take a moment and breathe from lower in your body, stretch those muscles that are tense, look at something that triggers a smile, listen to music that soothes your heart, say something kind to yourself or a colleague.
Make a list now of 3 things you choose to do that help you stop and pause. Rehearse and practice on a daily basis – help yourself to help your health.
You may have minimal control over external stressors, but you do have responsibility to manage your reactivity to stressors.
I could keep going on and on, but good enough, I’m going to stop now. Because this is what I would have missed if I didn’t take time to pause.
“paws”
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