Posts in category: Articles

10 Free Ways to Relax and Unwind That You Can Start Today

Stress is a part of life, but it doesn’t have to control your well-being. Relaxing and unwinding are crucial for maintaining a healthy mind and body. However, you don’t need to spend much money on expensive spa treatments or vacations to achieve relaxation. There are many zero-cost ways to unwind and de-stress. Don’t forget, we all need to relax every now and then. If we don’t, we could end up stressed and even sick. However, there are many relaxation activities out there that cost a pretty penny.

What if we want to find ways to relax without breaking the bank? There are many of them out there, and it’s easier than you think!

Here is a list of ideas for zero-cost ways to relax:

1.     Light Exercise: A great way to relax is to get some light exercise, which can mean walking around the neighborhood or playing a low-impact sport. Exercise has been known to help the body relax, and engaging in the non-intense activity will also help your mind unwind.

2.     Meditation: Meditation is one of the most relaxing activities you can enjoy for free. All you need to do is sit silently and focus on your breath. When negative thoughts arise, acknowledge them and then let them go. Try doing this for 30 minutes each day. 

3.     Take a Nap: Babies and toddlers aren’t the only ones that can benefit from a nap! You may even feel relaxed and rejuvenated after a simple 15-minute snooze. You don’t even need to be fully asleep to enjoy this activity.

4.     Shoot the Breeze: Go to a friend’s house or talk to a friend on the phone. Chances are you have one of those friends you can chat with as if no time has passed since you last spoke. Old friends usually provide great opportunities to talk about the good old days. 

5.     Listen to Music: Pick out a group of songs that you find incredibly relaxing. Classical and other light songs usually work best.

6.     Read a Book: Go check out a new book from the local library and start reading. Reading one of your favorite books over again may be a fun activity.

7.     Take a Hot Bath: Take a hot bath or shower. If you’re taking a bath, add bubble bath soap, play classical music, and remember to silence your phone. This is a simple way to have a peaceful time just for you. 

8.     Look at Old Photos: Look at photos from your childhood or a fun trip you took. Remembering some of your treasured moments through photographs will surely make you smile and relax. 

9.     Play Board Games: When was the last time you played your favorite board game? Dust off the old Monopoly or Scrabble, prepare snacks and play a few games with your family. It’ll be fun for all!

10. Daydream: Allow your mind to wander and dream. Escape to where you’d like to travel one day. Think about your life in the next 5, 10, or 15 years and write these thoughts down in a journal for you to read later. 

Endless Possibilities 

These are just 10 simple ideas for relaxing the zero-cost way. Stay creative, and remember that it’s okay to waste time occasionally. You can either do some self-reflection or hang out with friends or family; whatever it is, do something fun!

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For more information about reducing your stress, contact us by email.

Visit our website to see the online programs, e-books, and articles or to schedule a call.

Take care,

Lydia

De-Stress Your Mind and Wallet: Top Steps to Reduce Both Your Stress and Debts

It can be challenging if you find yourself dealing with financial stress. However, it would be best if you didn’t let stress take over your life. If the bills are piling up, there are steps you can take to reduce your stress and your debts. 

The most important thing to remember when facing financial troubles is to make a plan and stick to it. If you need help with this plan, it would be in your best interest to seek out a financial planner.

Here are a few tips that can help you on your way:

1.     Don’t spend money to relieve your stress. Reducing stress by going out for meals, entertainment, and other activities is often tempting and counterproductive. Instead, use some free stress relievers such as a good book, a warm bath, or a social event with friends at home. 

2.     Accept your situation. Being unwilling to accept that you’re dealing with a complicated situation can increase your stress. In many financial scenarios, you’re unable to control the situation. However, once you surrender control and accept it, you’ll feel better knowing that you can only do what you can to improve your financial outlook. It may take time, and that’s okay!

3.     Don’t be risky. If you have investments that may be risky, it may be time to switch them to more of a sure bet. This security alone may ease your financial stress.

4.     Discuss your problems with your family. If you have a spouse, keep the lines of communication open. Many marriages suffer during financial stress, but with honest communication and careful planning, you can keep your marriage and family happy. 

5.     Stay Organized. Make lists and keep a calendar. It’s important to schedule time for relaxation, too. You’ll need time to enjoy yourself without worrying about anything – especially your financial troubles.

Have a Plan

Simply having a plan to improve your financial problems can reduce your stress level. Plans and goals will help you keep things in perspective and show you that you’re progressing toward a better life.

You don’t need to do this alone. Many professionals can help you create a successful financial plan, even in your current situation. 

Here are some items you may want to review before forming your plan: 

1. Find ways to cut expenses if you’re spending more than you’re making. Look for ways to reduce your costs, reduce eating in restaurants or cancel subscriptions you don’t need.
2. See if you can pick up a part-time job or implement other ways to add to your income. Consider taking on a side hustle or finding ways to increase your revenue to help alleviate financial stress.
3. Look into refinancing options for your current loans.
4. Start using your debit card instead of a credit card.
5. Create a budget. A budget can help you manage your money more effectively and reduce financial stress.
6. Seek professional help. Consider contacting a financial advisor, counselor, or coach who can provide guidance and support.

Maintaining Your Health

Remember how important it is to maintain your health; people often forget this. When your body is dealing with any stress, it can take a toll if you don’t take steps to relieve it. 

Next time you feel exceptionally stressed out, become aware of the state of your body. You’ll likely notice that all of your muscles are tense. Take a few moments to relax your muscles and take a few deep breaths.

While you may not have control of your financial situation, you do control how you feel about it. Focus on taking action to do what you can to improve your situation and know that better days are ahead.

Remember…Practice self-care! Financial stress can affect your mental and physical health, so practicing self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, or spending time with loved ones is essential.

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For more information about reducing your stress, contact us by email.

Visit our website to see the online programs, e-books, and articles or to schedule a call.

Take care,

Lydia

How To Axe Self-Sabotaging Behaviour

Self-sabotage is a uniquely human behavior. 

Many of us sabotage ourselves when we decide we want something by doing everything we can to ensure we don’t get it. 

Sound familiar?

Although self sabotaging is a subconscious behavior, we can get a handle on it.

There are many reasons that you might sabotage yourself. It’s a prevalent behavior rooted in fear of the unknown. The idea of greatness may be frightening if you have immersed yourself in mediocrity. Ask yourself if you’re satisfied with your life.

How do I know if I’m sabotaging myself?

Find out why you may self-sabotage:

Control

You might self-sabotage because you need to be in control of your circumstances. Maintaining the status quo is the easiest and most certain way to stay in power.

If you put your all into something, you risk becoming vulnerable. Fear gets the best of you, and you self-sabotage.

Low self-esteem
Do you feel unworthy of greatness?

For whatever reason, you may have decided that happiness ought to be forever beyond your reach. This is a self-limiting idea, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Excitement
Perhaps you undermine your efforts because you’re seeking excitement. You feel the need to remain in a constant state of turmoil to distract yourself from painful memories or alleviate boredom.

If you see yourself in any of these descriptions, fear not: there are steps you can take to put yourself on the path toward self-mastery.

Consider this process for defeating your self-sabotage:

Observe your behavior. First off, it’s essential that you begin to observe yourself. You can effectively do this by creating a self-sabotage journal. Make a journal entry every time you realize that you’ve sabotaged yourself. Describe the setting, circumstances, and final result. Avoid over-analyzing.

Most often, a person’s true intentions are evident in actions rather than words.

Strive to be an impersonal observer in your journal. Eventually, you’ll better understand your motives in certain situations.

Envision success. Keep in mind that success is neither black nor white. Cultivate the habit of envisioning what success means to you and remember how it feels to achieve it. If you do this consistently, you may find that what you envision changes over time.

Begin to see success as an integral part of your future, but realize there will still be challenges. Like everyone else, you’ll still have to pay taxes and have relationship issues.

Let go of the notion of perfection. 
As you visualize success, are you still thinking that success equals perfection? If so, it’s time to realize that nobody is perfect.

This is what George Bernard Shaw would refer to as “doublethink.” Perfection and life are mutually exclusive because perfection is unattainable. Your subconscious won’t allow you to achieve success if you associate success with the impossible task of being perfect.

Think of your subconscious as a computer. It doesn’t know how to execute a command called “do the impossible.”

If you associate success with fear, your subconscious will fight you. Why? Because its primary function is to protect you from perceived threats.

 Permit yourself to anticipate success with excitement. Perhaps you’ve been sending your subconscious the message, “Don’t give me success!” So, let’s put your self-sabotaging behaviors in the past!

Embrace the good life you deserve by picturing yourself as successful, and then refuse to talk yourself out of going for it. The journey to your ideal life starts now!

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For more information about reducing your stress, contact us by email.

Visit our website to see the online programs, e-books, and articles or to schedule a call.

Take care,

Lydia

How Stressful Thinking Affects You

We all encounter stress, one day a bit more than another day.

Sometimes stress peaks during the day and could also disappear as fast as it arrives. It really depends on how we deal with stress.

Do we let stress determine how we continue?

Will we allow stress to move us forward, or does anxiety hold us back?

It is not the situation that gives us stress, but how we react and think gives us anxiety.

Stressful thinking is often inaccurate, unreliable, and unhelpful. In this case, I talk about negative stress. As you might have read in my article: A stress-free life, does that even exist? I don’t believe in a stress-free life.

Unfortunately, many of us think and behave in stressful ways, which harms our health, body, mind, relationships, etc. Instead of continuing to go through life thinking and acting in stressful manners, we can turn this stressful thinking around. 

Silencing negative thinking may be more accessible than ever imagined, but it begins with a positive thought.

Negative Thinking, Positive Aspirations, and You

Negative thinking controls how you approach life and can negatively affect your body, mind, and relationships. When you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you have the power to move forward more healthily and productively. With enough time and effort, you can change your thought process, and it all begins with just a few words.

The Power of A Few Words…

When you see a list of affirmations, you see nothing more than a list of words with idealistic phrases that do not apply to your thinking. Looking closer at each affirmation, many encapsulate how you would like to think. 

When you see a positive phrase that speaks to you, latch onto it and use it to extinguish the negative thought you want to get rid of. Essentially, you will replace your negative thinking pattern with a positive approach. This is what positive affirmations are all about!

Affirmations are positive statements that stimulate your mind to accomplish all the great things you want. Words have the power to move mountains because they can evoke emotions within us all. If you use an affirmation that speaks to you on a deep level – and you reaffirm it by repeating it often – you can make the statement your mantra and your reality.

If you are overcome by negative thinking to the point where you think no affirmation can work for you, don’t lose hope! Many affirmations can help you deal with just that! An affirmation such as, “Negative thinking is not my way of thinking,” will give you the power to change your thought process and life. It may feel awkward initially, but as you reaffirm the positive emotions you desire, your negative thinking will be replaced with positive ones. 

There are many different affirmations to help you with negative thinking. Something as simple as “Negative thoughts cannot enter my mind” will allow you a moment to replace anger and frustration with a positive thought. 

Does this sound too good to be true? There are many people who, just like you, think this is too good to be true and too simple to be influential. How do you know this for sure? You can only find out and experience it if you try it. What is the harm, or what do you have to lose? No need to share this with others, although in time, you may find that the benefits are so great that you want to share them with everyone you know.

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For more information about reducing your stress, contact us by email.

Visit our website to see the online programs, e-books, and articles or to schedule a call.

Take care,

Lydia

How to Find Peace and Relaxation at home

Find Peace and Relaxation at home. Destressing, re-energizing, and finding peace at home, far away from the fast and hectic world, requires some work.

In an ideal world, your home would be, without a doubt, a peaceful place or a sanctuary. Unfortunately, it only sometimes works like that.

We understand that life can be challenging or stressful, and the hectic outside world knocks on your door.

So how do you keep your home free from all the hectic?

There are easy ways to keep the hectic outside your door, and it requires just a little bit of effort.


9 Easy Ways to keep the hectic outside and find peace and relaxation on the other side at home:
1. Music Maestro
Listen to any music that relaxes you. You may start to dance or sing too. All is fine as long as it helps you to let go of the daily stress and makes you enjoy your moment at home.

2. Clean Up And Organize
An organized home is an organized mind. If you see stuff everywhere around your home, your mind sees and notices all the time the clutter and chaos.

It gets a non-stop impulse to organize, sort, or clean up. A cluttered mind often comes from an environment full of stuff. Organize your home step by step, room by room, and find peace.

3. Find A Hobby
Distract your mind with a hobby when you get bored at home. Binge-watching occasionally is fine, but if you have something that keeps you
positively busy, it’s easier to feel re-energized and fulfilled.

4. Work Stays At Work
How can you ever find peace if your house is an office? Your work remains at work, mentally and physically. Of course, exceptions are allowed; if you work from home, keep your workspace separate.

Also, work in a different room where you sleep; otherwise, your bedroom will become associated with a workspace.

5. Decompress Is Essential
Give yourself 15′ to relax once you get home. You can unwind when you leave the office towards home and when you do home office, take 15 minutes to chill. Your chores and responsibilities can wait 15 minutes.

Give your mind a break to separate work from home.
What can work to decompress is listening to your favorite music, reading a book, have a shower. This 15′ break will help to refresh your mind and rejuvenate you!

6. Be Considerate And Use Positive Reinforcement
Your family or loved ones also have their daily stress and be mindful of their stress levels. Don’t take your loved ones for granted, be grateful for their presence and what they do for themselves and you.

Appreciate and acknowledge them and their efforts by showing them your appreciation and care. This is an excellent contribution to peace.

7. Pick And Choose Your Battles
What is worth a discussion or to stir and heat a conversation? You can pick and choose your battles. It’s very tiring to criticize and fight over small insignificant things. Go for something worth the energy, the heated conversation, and what contributes to something better.

8. Let It Go
Let it go if something is small and insignificant, not something significant. Focus on your inner peace, and keep your energy for when it impacts your life for the better. It can make your joy, peace, and life easier in the long run.

9. Cool Off
When there’s a conflict at home, give yourself some time to cool off. Go to another room or for a walk around the block. This cool-off period will help you to calm down. Plus, you can calmly talk about your feelings and find ways to solve the conflict or find a resolution.

Maybe during your time off, you or your loved one realize that the issue wasn’t as big of a deal as you first thought.

Maintaining peace in your home is vital to the health and well-being of every family member.

Use these tips to nurture a peaceful environment so your home is a joy to come
home to!

Take care,
Lydia

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TOP 10 TIPS TO ENHANCE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE

When we decide to make a better life for ourselves, we often tend to focus on massive changes, but this is optional. Significant changes are too intimidating for most of us to even take the first step.

However, small changes are easy to integrate into our regular routines. Luckily, accumulating these small changes over several months can completely transform your life!

The secret is to get started as soon as possible. Let’s enhance it.

Try these small changes that lead to significant results:

1. Decluttering daily your home or office. Decluttering is like pulling weeds. You can’t do it once and forget about it; it’s ongoing. Decluttering works best if done each day. Choose a room and set a timer for 15 minutes. See how much you can get accomplished before the timer runs out.
2. Create a budget and follow it. Everyone knows they should have a budget, yet few create one. There are plenty of guides online about how to make a budget. Make a budget and stick with it. It should be a budget that works for you and is realistic.
3. Eliminate the unhealthiest food you regularly eat from your diet. What do you often eat that you know you shouldn’t? Eliminate the worst offender from your life. Replace it with healthier food that you would enjoy.
4. Eliminate one expense from your spending. What is one monthly payment that adds little to your life but slowly drains your bank account? It might be the monthly termite service that you’re not sure how you were roped into or the monthly bill for the alarm system you haven’t turned on in the last six months.
5. Make a daily schedule. Creating a daily plan or to-do list is a great start. A short list of the 3 most important things to accomplish is sufficient to improve your life. Conscientiousness is the trait most associated with high levels of success. 
6. Make a list of things you like about your partner. Keep a notebook and write down one thing you like about your partner each day. You’ll be surprised how much more you appreciate them after a month.
7. List things you enjoy doing. Do you feel you spend too much time watching TV or scrolling through your social media? Are you bored regularly? Make a list of things you enjoy doing – from small activities to more elaborate ones. Do at least one of them each day. 
8. Make a list of the things that annoy you regularly and begin fixing them. All the little annoyances in life can wear on your nerves. It’s the closet door that won’t shut all the way, the garbage can with a broken wheel, or the screen door with a hole that lets flies in the house. Start fixing those things.
9. Make one goal. Just one little goal is enough to make a difference in your life. Choose something challenging but meaningful and work toward it each day for the next month or two. What do you want to accomplish?
10. Meditate. Many people report that meditation was the most important thing they’ve ever done for themselves. Buy a book or watch a few videos online. Make a habit of meditating for 10-15 minutes each day. Try it for at least a month.

You can begin enhancing the quality of your life today. You might not notice a change by the end of the day, but you’ll see significant changes by the end of the month.

Make the most of each day, and you’ll quickly find your life moving positively. Now is the time to start.

Would you like to know more about “Decluttering”?

Download my e-book Declutter Your Mind & Gain Clarity with a 23% discount as we almost enter 2023!

Use promocode Clarity23

Take care,

Lydia

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Be And Stay Positive and Reduce Stress 

People are constantly working to make real improvements in the world. New waves of communication and better technology have led to increased life spans and seemingly better lives. 

While there are many positives to modern life, the downside is that sometimes people try to cram too many things into one day. In this fast-paced world, stress may get the better, and you might have trouble looking on the bright side.

Scheduling Downtime

You may feel like you should always be doing something productive. However, taking care of yourself is ultimately the most effective thing you can do. When you’ve given yourself proper rest and permission to do whatever you want once in a while, you’ll be better able to focus significant efforts on the other things in your life that matter. 

People who schedule downtime for themselves have lower stress levels. Allow yourself a proper amount of time for rest. Get 6-8 hours of sleep at night and avoid the temptation to stay up doing something else with that time.

It would be best if you allowed yourself a portion of the day to do whatever you want. Even when time is short, let yourself enjoy a few minutes of total relaxation sometime during the day to rejuvenate.

Scheduling proper downtime also gives you time for reflection. When you reflect on your life, you can concentrate on the meaning of it all. You’ll be more likely to enjoy your journey truly. It’s easy to let life pass you by if you don’t take time to reflect.

Concentrating On Attitude

Thinking positively is something you can choose to do regardless of your circumstances in life. Everyone struggles with it from time to time, and you owe it to yourself to focus on having a positive attitude. 

A positive attitude is a foundation for a good life. Your outlook will allow you to enjoy all the craziness and equip you to deal with the stressful parts. When negative thinking creeps up, think about the things that are going right. You can also visualize how it’ll feel when things turn around for the better. 

Keeping Up

In a fast-paced life, you can take specific steps to slow your life down, but you can also work on being able to keep up!

Make a list of the areas where you’re having trouble balancing. Brainstorm actions that you can take to improve your ability to cope.

For example, if you struggle to complete your tasks at work, see what you can do to fix this challenge. You could do one of your projects more efficiently. You could rearrange your schedule to take care of the more stressful tasks first. So you can leave the least stressful tasks for the end of the day, so you can directly unwind once you finish those simple, easy, unstressful tasks. 

Dealing with Stress

Stress in your day-to-day life is nearly unavoidable. However, it’s how you deal with the stress that counts. It would help if you kept it from building up, or it could lead to more outstanding issues in the long run. 

Do what you can to relieve your stress healthily. Work on relaxation and breathing techniques. If you’re more socially inclined, venting to a close friend can help you deal with stress. As long as you’re doing something to relieve your stress, you’ll be able to jump back into your faced paced life with a positive attitude.

Just because our world is hectic, it doesn’t mean your life needs to be that way. Using these tips will make it much easier to remain positive and enjoy a stress-free life.

Take care,

Lydia

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Stress is a constant companion, and most of us, through lots of practice, have become experts at elevating our stress levels. The ability to relax is an acquired skill too. Learn ways to handle stress in a manner that minimizes it. However, the more stressed you feel, the more challenging it can be to relax. 

Discover 11 powerful ways how to relax your body and mind when your stress levels are out of control:

1. Stretch for a moment. Stand up and stretch your body. When you stretch, you release the stress and tension in your muscles. Start to shake one arm at a time, then your legs, and if you can, shake your whole body! It sounds crazy, but it works!
2. Exercise. A 30 minutes exercise can do wonders! Think outside your box and avoid limiting yourself to your usual walk around the block. See if you can do squads, start to jump robe, or find that great Pilates routine. Exercise alone or with others. Whatever works for you!
3. Listen to music. Music can be very soothing. When you feel anxious or overwhelmed, choose relaxing music instead of an upbeat song. 
4. Meditate. Meditation for relaxation is a simple way to relieve your tension. Focus on your breath, and think of letting go of the built-upbuilt-up stress with each exhale. It might feel like a challenge, but with practice, meditation becomes easier. Anyone can learn how to meditate. Learn to focus on your thoughts and relieve your tension. Your thoughts stay focused on your breath. Whenever you get distracted, return to these thoughts.
5. Reach out to your friends & family. Find a distraction to surround yourself with friends or family. Decide if you want to share your feelings or what makes you feel how you feel. You can also choose to put the topic to the side and put your challenge to the side to relax and have a great time. Being by yourself can also be a way to relax; some of us actually prefer that. Whatever you do, make sure you have fun.
6. Laugh. Laughing is one of the best medicine. Search for funny youtube videos or watch your favorite stand-up comedian show. What also helps to relax is to start laughing out loud. Try it! 
7. Feel gratitude. List all the things that you’re grateful for. Sometimes you need to be reminded of all that you’re grateful for, which could have slipped your (cluttered) mind.
8. Take a power nap. A 15-20 power nap to reset your nervous system. Do you have more time on your hands? Sleep for 90′ as rest can be a great stress-buster. Find yourself a quiet place to relax; even a field of daisies will do:-)
9. Happy thoughts. Think back to happy moments and relive that happy feeling that came with them. 
10. Reduce or drop the caffeine altogether. Caffeine is a stress enhancer, and combined with stress? If you feel already stressed, do you need to be even more stimulated?
11. Close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you. You could also cover your ears and focus on what you see. You’ll just look sillier. Block off one of your senses and focus on your environment. This is an excellent way to be more present. Giving your attention to your surroundings will stop your mind from creating more stress.

Stress is a part of daily life; find ways to cope with it, become resilient, and make your life more enjoyable.

When would be the best time to address stress? From the very first minute. Reducing stress will be a bit more challenging when it is at a peak. Most stress-reduction techniques provide a small to moderate amount of relief. Use them sooner rather than later, and prevent a meltdown before it happens.

Take care,

Lydia

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