Category: Opinion

Loyalty Is Paper Thin…

Life rarely cares about one’s plans. I’ve said this often. Quiet waters also make for the dullest sails and your ship won’t go far without a little wind. But once in a while, you have to ask yourself, when do the choppy waters calm? It seems to me that I’ve been dealing with almost two decades of people leaving for various reasons. Depending on the arena they happen to be playing in, that departure can leave voids that make things all the more difficult.

It’s a phenomenon I’ve unfortunately seen in many arenas. In karate, I’ve had students that I’ve contributed months and years of training to, only to have them walk away to join a different style or dojo. One good example is a young guy I trained for several years. He started training with me when he was in his early teens and eventually stopped coming to class. He showed promise, but it wasn’t until years later that I found out he had joined Tae Kwon Do. If that wasn’t enough of a piss-off, he considered himself better off. He wasn’t a big fan of how long it took to promote or gain stripes on his belt and that seemed to be all that mattered to him. He certainly got that quickly enough, in Tae Kwon Do. Good for him.

I’ve experienced the same in some of the professional circles I’ve walked in. I’ve managed and trained staff for twenty five years. In those years, I’ve seen many people come and go. And with good reason; some of the industries I’ve worked in weren’t conducive to retaining staff. I’ve had to learn to make my peace with people taking my time and resources to learn and develop, only to leave me a short time later. One comes to expect it, especially when it involves the fact that some folks are simply expected to move on eventually. It hits a bit closer to home when it’s someone that you thought would stick with you for longer.

I had to experience this, recently. I took someone in, trained them, developed them and made them what they are. Although that loyalty should have bought me a longer and more substantial period of time with them in my inner circle, I found out recently that they would be moving on. Someone close to me commented that it seems as though everyone seems to leave me eventually. That definitely seems to be the case. Maybe this phenomenon will come to an end, eventually. Who knows? ☯️

Are You In The Goo…?

Not everyone is as avid a cartoon fan as I am, so maybe I should provide some background on that title. I watch a show called American Dad and there’s an episode where the main protagonist usually sticks his family into vats filled with goo and VR attachments, rather than spend holidays with them. It’s horrible from an actual family perspective but hilarious from a cartoon one. But the actual goo I’m referring to in today’s post, refers to change. Not change in environment or job or even goals but change within oneself, which tends to be the most difficult change of all.

I found the image above somewhere online, last week. I can’t quite remember where but it doesn’t matter. It resonated deeply enough for me to save it at the time, so I thought I would share it. The statement, in and of itself, makes a lot of sense. People always tend to assume that once a caterpillar seals itself up in the cocoon, it comes out having “grown” into a butterfly. The process is actually incredibly complicated and does, in fact, require the majority of the caterpillar’s body breaking down into its constituent proteins.

Despite popular belief, it isn’t completely “goo,” there are a number of organs that stay intact. And it would have to, right? Many people go through this kind of a transformation. It’s never easy and the outside world will usually do very little to accommodate one’s transformation. But if you manage to fight your way and suffer through being reduce to your constituent parts, you’re almost guaranteed to come out more beautiful than when you started. And if you feel that you may not be, it doesn’t mean you aren’t; it may simply mean that your transformation isn’t done yet.

As the image says, if you’re a mess wrapped up in blankets, don’t just keep going. Take a moment to let yourself heal. Take a breath. Take two. Allow yourself to see the path you want to pursue before shedding your cocoon and coming out changed. And be sure to change only in the way that you choose to. Food for thought… ☯️

The Pebble In Your Shoe

The title refers to a much-referenced quote by Muhammed Ali. The full quote reads, “It’s isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out. It’s the little pebble in your shoe.” It’s usually referenced to represent how the smaller challenges are what usually wear you out along your journey, as opposed to reaching the ultimate goal. That being said, it can also apply to one’s physical health. I recently wrote a post about things one can expect when living with someone who has Diabetes. if you missed it, you can read that post here.

Illness and pain are subjective to the person and it can be REALLY hard to compare oneself to another person. A paper cut can seem like a trivial pain to one individual, while another individual may do everything to avoid using that hand until the paper cut heals. One person may work through a common head cold, going to work and even attending fitness sessions while they recover. Another person will be completely on their ass and on the edge of debilitation from that same head cold. It’s all subjective and dependent on the person and their tolerance.

As much as I’d like to agree that one should just toughen up, hammer through and beat any illness before it beats you, there’s something to be said for taking the time to recover, even when it’s something minor. People tend to forget that the symptoms we feel are not only part of the overall illness but also part of the body’s defence mechanism. A good example is a fever. People tend to try and take medication to reduce or eliminate a fever. In truth, the fever is the body’s mechanism to kill whatever is making the body sick. That’s why it’s important not to ignore symptoms and to allow the body the time it needs to recover.

I’ll fully admit that I’m bad with pushing through. I recognized this last weekend when I started to feel a bit off but continued to do yard work, chores around the house and prepare meals. By the time Sunday rolled around, I started to seriously feel like shit. It was all in my head and I don’t mean that I was imagining it. My head felt heavy and foggy, my nose wouldn’t stop running, despite there being no airflow through it. I ended up sleeping downstairs and spent most of the night up, tossing and turning, taking nasal spray every couple of hours, which we all know is WONDERFUL for the body…

At time of posting, it’s begun to pass and I’ve returned to the office. The important thing to remember, is not to ignore illness when it hits. I don’t need to remind everyone that absolutely EVERYTHING affects Diabetes and as a result, even a small head cold can have nasty results. Take time to rest. This can be tough, depending on one’s adulting responsibilities. Not everyone has the sick days available to take a few days to recover from a cold, especially if they need to save them for more serious illness down the road. Given the way of the new world, maybe you can work from home. That’s what I did, for a couple of days.

The important thing to remember is that your health has to come first. Small colds and illnesses can seem menial but like the small pebble in one’s shoe, it can wear you down worse than the mountain you face. And because this is me and given the subject matter of today’s post, stay hydrated, test your blood often and if your body is weary, for the love of the light, SLEEP! Take rest when you need rest and can get rest. Trying to hard to push through can weaken one’s body further and lead to worse illness. Food for thought… ☯️

All Things Good And Bad…

I’ve written a handful of posts about things you should never say to someone with Type-1 Diabetes… And without getting into any of them, let’s agree that there is a shit ton of different things that, unless you have or know someone who has Diabetes (and even if you do) you should never say/ask them. It’s not as bad as being asked about one’s faith, orientation or personal beliefs, but asking about one’s medical status and/or requirements is right up there. I’ll step off my soapbox now and get to the actual point of today’s post.

Although there are plenty of things you shouldn’t assume or say to someone with Diabetes, living with one can be all the more difficult. More often than not, people don’t know what they’re get into when they become involved and begin to live with someone who has Type-1. Because of this, I consider my wife to be one of the strongest people I’ve ever met because she puts up with more of my shit than a wheelbarrow could hold. But previous relationships haven’t fared quite as well. They’ve ALL ended up on the losing end, mostly because despite claiming they understood certain aspect of Diabetes, they really didn’t. And now, let’s get into a list of things you can expect while living with someone who has Diabetes…

  1. We’re moody as shit: People in general don’t tend to realize that fluctuating blood sugars affects just about every system in the human body. Every. Fucking. System. As a result, people with Type-1, even when properly controlled can experience mood swings and crankiness. This happens even when it seems as though it shouldn’t and although most of us do our best to control it, it’s important to remember that it isn’t personal. It’s also not an excuse, and someone who regularly gets pissed for no good reason should look within and consider some better control methods.
  2. There’s medical stuff all over the place: I have at least three glucometres. I have boxes of sensors, insulin reservoirs, vials and various Diabetic equipment. It can get tedious and take up space. If we could live without it all, we would but the reality is that every piece of medical equipment in our environment is necessary for good control and our overall health.
  3. We get sick with EVERYTHING that floats by: “Man-flu” notwithstanding, our immune systems make it so that we catch every cold, flu and annoying bug that happens to float by. As a result, we tend to get sick a lot and some people tend to interpret this as being a hypochondriac or even Munchausen. The truth is, it’s more annoying to us than it is to you, despite the fact you may have to deal with us being sick, often.
  4. There are unfortunate “surprises”: Picture this… You meet someone you make a connection with, you go on a few dates and before you know it, you end up back at their place or they end up at yours. The evening starts heating up and clothing starts falling off… Before this slips dangerously into a steamy romance novel (I’m not sure I’d be great to write that genre), you notice tubes and devices attached to the other person’s abdomen. Turns out they have Diabetes and are using an insulin pump. maybe even a CGM, making them look like a bad, 80’s B-movie cyborg. Communication and forthcoming is important. It’s totally one’s right to choose not to share that information but for the Diabetic in the equation, it’s important to recognize that the topic will come up eventually, so you may as well be open about it.
  5. Plans will get cancelled: The unfortunate reality is that if one is suffering from an extreme high or low (blood sugars), they may not necessarily want to go out to whatever plans were made, be it a restaurant, a get-together or otherwise. It may even interrupt and kill the mood if one is seeking some “quality” time. But it can make things difficult for just about any plans one may be seeking to make.
  6. Everything takes planning: I saved this one for last because it’s the one that grates on my soul the worst. Even the smallest of things require intricate planning. Going out on errands for an hour? Gotta test my blood, remember when I ate last and have a contingency plan in the event I suffer a low, depending on where I’m going. Karate class? That’s even worse. Even if my blood sugars are fine, I need to consider how my blood sugars will be affected depending on whether we have a more cardio-heavy workout or if it’s more technique-based. Fast-acting carbs are a must, and I have to be ready for the embarrassment of stepping out of class early, should m y blood sugars refuse to cooperate.

Having Diabetes can be tough, but refusing to own one’s truth and face what needs to be faced will make it even tougher. I know some people with Diabetes who have refused to take the appropriate steps and be open and communicative about their condition. Such is their right. But all of them I’ve encountered are in the ground, now. A pretty morbid reminder that being open and willing to talk to the people in your inner circle about your Diabetes is a key component in maintaining healthy control. And last but not least, you should NEVER compromise your health to accommodate someone who won’t understand or isn’t willing to meet you halfway. That’s why I’m so lucky. Food for thought… ☯️

Bring On The Pain…

When one becomes a parent, we usually hope and pray that our children will inherit our better traits and values. We hope that they’ll be strong, healthy and develop a wisdom that will allow them to push forward and make a positive presence within the world. At least, that’s what I hope for my sons. But of course, life rarely cares about one’s plans and things don’t always turn out the way we’d LIKE them to. This is why, instead of a strong martial arts acumen or a love of books or making exercise and fitness a priority within his life, my son has chosen one of my lesser-enjoyed traits: he’s a fuckin’ klutz…

Now, don’t get me wrong… I love Nathan. He’s my first-born son, he looks like me, clings to me and watches my every move. So when I say he’s a klutz, I say it with affection albeit a mild tinge of frustration since there are so many other aspects he could have prominently at the forefront. Last week, while walking on my at-home treadmill, he wiped out. This caused him to face plant and roll on his shoulder off the edge of the treadmill’s belt. He busted open his upper lip and bruised his right shoulder pretty good.

The wound on his upper lip, now scabbing and nearing removal

He worked it off like a champ, despite my letting him know it was okay to cry a bit if he needed to let it out. What was worrisome is that he still had a week of school left. In my experience, some school staff become a little overzealous and will assume some dark things when they see a child come to school with new injuries. And even though I don’t think Nathan would lie or make something upon, children have an unfortunate propensity for making shit up if they think it sounds cool or they’re trying to please or agree with another adult.

Luckily, he made it to the school finish line without an issue but that didn’t stop him from hurting himself further. once school was done, my wife took the boys out shopping on the day before Canada Day. Since we were heading into the summer, she bought Nathan one of those plastic tubes that spray water. You know the ones; you stick the tip in water and pull back the tube and it fills, then you push hard and it can squirt almost twenty feet. Well, she got him one of those on the condition that he not use water in the backyard without my permission and that it wasn’t an “everything” toy… It was only to be used with water.

Only my child would manage to self-inflict an injury this way…

So while we’re hanging out outside last week (this was on the same day that a rabbit came to visit), he had been playing with the water tube, using a bucket I made available and told him he could refill it a couple of times, not wanting to waste TOO much water. he came running into the garage at one point with tears in his eyes and showed me his arm, as pictured above. I asked him what happened and he told me he pinched his arm with the water tube.

Now, I’m pretty good at picturing things and I have a pretty solid imagination. But I just COULDN’T wrap my head around how in the holy hell that he managed to hurt himself that way. I had him demonstrate and even to his credit, it took him a couple of tries before he could replicate exactly HOW he had managed to hurt himself. Turns out he was holding the tube almost rifle-style, with the plunger in his right hand against his left pec and pulling the tube towards him instead of pushing the plunger towards the tube.

The result was he pinched his flesh and caused the abrasion in the crook of his arm. All things considered, I think that hurt him and had him more upset than smashing his face did. It didn’t stop him from playing further, but I couldn’t help but think that only my son would be that awkward as to cause an injury with something completely safe that shouldn’t have caused said injury. Que sera… I’ll take his being clumsy and self-injurious over his being diagnosed with Diabetes, any day. ☯️

Happy Canada Day!

Canada Day is my country’s national holiday and is always observed on July 1st, every year. It stems from the Dominion of Canada being formed on July 1, 1867 and was actually called “Dominion Day” until the Canada Act came into force in 1982, at which point the holiday was renamed to what it’s known today. The holiday usually consists of parades, fireworks and of course, the singing of our national anthem.

It would be ignorant of me not to acknowledge the issues and challenges that my country has faced in recent years. I won’t get into them, as they seem pretty pale in comparison to what some other countries have to contend with. But it’s never been a harsher time for people in my county, with controversy, political and financial issues as well as matters of ethnicity, personal beliefs and even a ridiculous notion by some to rename the holiday away from “Canada Day.”

Despite all of these issues and concerns, it’s important to remember that a country is not considered the sum of its shadows. If this were true, current allied countries and territories wouldn’t be considered “allied.” If you study history in depth, you’d be hard-pressed to find ANY country that hasn’t had some dark stains in their story. Canada is no exception. But one must consider that while it’s important to remember the past in order to prevent its repetition, there really is only one direction in which one can move, when considering history: forward.

I love my country. I consider it a privilege to have been born here and live in a country as free as it is. in fact, under the right circumstances you might even catch me tearing up while singing the national anthem. I have no illusions that there aren’t issues but I feel it’s important not to let those negative issues cloud the positive. Positivity is truly the only the way to move forward. I don’t usually write about such things, as I try to keep my blog on a particular track.

Amidst all the controversy and societal issues, don’t lose sight of the fact that today is a day of celebration and should be treated as such. Take the time to acknowledge your pride and your belief in who you are and where you’re from. The entire world is rich with people who make it beautiful. Taking this one day to acknowledge that you’re one of them is an important step in living a positive life. happy Canada Day, folks! ☯️

If You Spill A Bag Of Marbles, You May Wipe Out Trying To Pick One Up…

It’s an odd thing to me, how some people feel it necessary to stick their noses into other people’s affairs. And no, despite that snarky opening line, I’m not bitter, angry or pissed at anyone. If anything, I’m genuinely curious. I’ve seen this happen in almost all areas of life; work, personal and recreational. I’ve always fancied myself as being the kind of individual who stays in his own lane, works hard and makes an effort to be efficient in all things that I do, and work to repair the issues when I fail at that endeavour. But for some, it seems almost impossible to avoid the allure of either wanting what they have or commenting on how they do things.

If I take karate as an example, I’ve frequently seen students become angry or upset at seeing other students promote when they haven’t. Instead of looking into the REASON why they didn’t promote, they seem to find more value in being unhappy that someone else did. That’s a very odd stance to take, especially when you consider that only genuine way to promote in a traditional martial art is to work and train hard and make yourself ready for promotion. But I it sure doesn’t stop some people from being bitter when they’re overlooked.

If I take work as an example, it amazes me how many people are utterly consumed with focusing on other employees activities; when they come and go, how they perform their duties and what they’re doing while they’re on the job. When one is busy poring over these concerns, it can be easy to forget to perform one’s own duties and worry about one’s own job. Not a good approach towards ensuring one’s progression and advancement in the workplace.

From a personal perspective, we’re looking at folks who tend to stick their noses in other people’s personal lives. I have to admit that I’ve been guilty of this on many occasions, myself. Sometimes it can be hard to keep from commenting on someone else’s choices, decisions and lifestyle, especially when it conflicts with ours. In some cases, many cases, it can lead to hard feelings, ended friendships and damaged familial relationships.

The important thing to remember is to stay in your lane. And this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t express concern to someone, if that’s your end goal. Showing concern to others is important and shows one’s compassion. But if you’re training towards specific fitness and martial arts goals, focus on THEM, not the other students around you. When you go to work, don’t worry about the fact that a co-worker takes an extra fifteen minutes on their lunch break; rather focus on ensuring you follow the rules and stick to your duties and entitlements.

Focusing on others will never help you or be a healthy way to approach life. The only way to progress and improve in life is to look inward. Focus on oneself and push yourself to grow and improve. Only through this method will you be able to help others because you can’t help others if you haven’t Fort helped yourself. Stay in your lane! You’ll be all the better for it. Food for thought… ☯️

Under The Veil of Night…

Weekends have become a special time for me. When I was in law enforcement, weekends essentially meant nothing, since shift work meant that I would have my days off at any given point during the calendar week. this meant that days off were valued, but having them on the Saturday and Sunday meant very little. It also didn’t matter as much before I had children. Now that one of my boys has been in school for a few years, Saturdays and Sundays have become a coveted time when we get to do family activities. That’s why Friday and Saturdays nights are important and represent my time to relax and unwind after whatever the week has brought me. I’m grateful for them and I look forward to them.

All of that was brought to a grinding halt on Friday night. After a cigar and a few drinks, I was spending some time with both boys in my basement. We were watching some carton and enjoying some garlic fingers, which Costco has been good enough to stock. They’re from a pizza chain called Pizza Delight, popular in the Maritimes and all but unheard of in the Prairies. It seemed as though the evening was shaping up to be fun and light. Until my phone rang… I looked down and saw my next door neighbour’s name light up my phone screen. Although we often text each other if we need to advise each other of something happening, he’s never called me before.

I picked up and my blood turned cold as he told me that his downstairs tenants could see someone in my backyard, dressed all in black and standing near my fence line. I told him I’d check it out and hung up. Filled with a sudden instinct I thought I had left behind, I grabbed a weapon and my bright, tactical flashlight and bounced into the backyard intent on intercepting whomever would be back there. To clarify, my home is laid out in such a way that it’s impossible to accidentally end up in my back yard unless you intentionally walk all the way up thirty feet of driveway. And one certainly wouldn’t stay back there once one realizes there’s no way out.

I had no idea what I would do if I found someone back there. I wasn’t interested in harming anyone and the thought of someone infringing on my property and violating the safety and security of my family was bringing out something in me that I didn’t like. But in my experience, shining a bright, halogen light into someone’s eyes while shouting to freeze tends to have the desired effect. That being said, the backyard was empty. The downstairs tenant came out to join me and we searched behind my out buildings, inside the sheds and even checked the neighbour’s back yard. Nothing to be found.

My neighbour was watching through his camera system in the event someone slipped past me. But I found nothing. The tenant’s girlfriend came out and claimed that she looked out the door and saw someone dressed all in black, standing in my backyard and couldn’t be mistaken for anything BUT a person. I honestly don’t know my neighbour’s tenants but I had no reason to disbelieve them. I posted notices on the neighbourhood Facebook page, warning everyone about what happened.

The whole experience put a damper on the evening and had me going outside compulsively, a few times over the next few hours. Luckily, the whole family seemed to sleep in until about 10 am, which was nice. Just an important reminder to everyone that although one’s home is one’s castle, it’s important to remember the state of the world we live in. Have precautions in place to protect your family, including bright lights in your yard, partnerships with your neighbours and local law enforcement on speed dial. Food for thought. ☯️

It’s Not Me, It’s You…

It’s pretty easy to dismiss someone else’s situation when you’re not in it. I’ve dealt with a lot of that in my life and it continues to this day. ironically, even my own family maintains this practice, despite the fact that they should know better. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves and something that should never be done, especially to ANYONE with a condition that others may consider “invisible.”

For most of my life, I’ve had people commenting about how “it could be worse” or knowing someone who has some chronic disease or disorder in an apparent but perhaps unintentional attempt to one-up the situation I may be dealing with in regards to my own health journey. Although in some instances, the person in question isn’t intentionally trying to be harmful and may simply be trying to make one feel better by illustrating that it could, in fact, be worse.

Unlike being part of a support group or social club aimed at discussing such things, trying to trade “war stories” about whose illness is worse or what the worst sickness you’ve witnessed won’t help the person you’re talking to. In fact, besides making them feel as though you’re belittling or dismissing their illness, it’s likely to simply make them feel like shit. Unfortunately, this is something that I deal with several times a month whenever I speak to a certain, beloved family.

Not looking to create hard feelings on the off chance the family member in question may read this or be told about, I’ll simply say that this person has been there, from the moment I was diagnosed withy Type-1 Diabetes and for the entirety of my life. One would be inclined to think that this would make them enlightened to the struggles and difficulties I’ve suffered in my life. Not so. And that’s unfortunate.

Illness and disease isn’t something meant to be compared. Each person’s journey is unique to them and it serves no purpose trying to explain how someone else’s journey may be rougher or more difficult. How exactly, does that help the person you’re speaking with? It doesn’t, and that’s the lesson. It doesn’t take away from whatever struggle or difficulties that person may be experience, even if someone else has it harder.

This concept applies to all things in life, whether it’s exercise, dieting, managing pain or disease… It’s all the same. We can never truly know what someone may be going through and if they take the effort to share it with you, it’s not an invitation to try and make it seem like nothing. Just offer an open ear, a touch of compassion and caring. You’re not there to try and fix the problem. Just be a good fried, a good family member and acknowledge the person’s situation. Food for thought…☯️

Don’t Stress While Reading This…

Stress is without a doubt one of the most insidious and harmful things that a person can fell, short of paranoia and distrust. The reason behind this is quite simple; prolonged stress will cause all sorts of measurable, physiological effects on the human body. In fact, prolonged stress in one’s life can be almost as damaging as Diabetes, in that it can cause digestive and sleep issues, cardiac issues, not to mention potentially harming and damaging personal relationships, if not managed properly.

“Self-care Is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From An Empty Vessel.”

– Eleanore Brown

It continues to amaze me, how people manage their stress so poorly. But don’t lat that amazement fool you; I’m just as guilty of being unable to do so. Even recently, I’ve found myself managing my own stress quite poorly and as I’ve written about before, you can’t truly help others until you’ve helped yourself. Therefore, if you’re stressed and managing it poorly, you’ll be ill-equipped to help others or deal with issues outside of that stress.

A lot of people are afraid of taking the time to self-care because they either feel that it’s a selfish thing to take time for oneself or are made to feel this way by others. The caveat there is that if you’re surrounded by people who consider you selfish for taking care of yourself, they’re likely a big part of the stress you’re feeling. And although I’m not suggesting throwing momma from the train, eliminating those negative sources of stress from your life is a huge step towards self-care.

There are a number of things you can do that are extremely helpful with managing stress within one’s own life. They seem obvious and may be common sense to some but if sense were common, it wouldn’t need saying. For that reason, I’ve decided to share some tips on what one can do to help manage daily stress. Here are a few gems:

1. Exercise Regularly: Look, I don’t care if cardio, weightlifting or fuckin’ speed-walking is your poison! Just get up off the couch and do it. Regular exercise not only helps improve your overall health and mood, it will help mitigate the feelings of stress. At least three or four times a week, set aside at least an hour for some sort of physical activity. I know that in the hustle and bustle of modern life, finding this time can be difficult. But the benefits of doing so far outweigh the struggle of finding said time. As the popular logo says, just do it!;

2. Maintain a Proper Diet: Again, this might seem like common sense but the reality is that if you eat like trash, you’ll feel like trash. And if you’re one of those people who justify their diets because they eat fish and poultry a few times a week, it doesn’t count if those foods are battered and deep fried. Eat lean proteins and be sure to includes some freakin’ veggies in that mix (something I’m sorely lacking). There’s nothing wrong with occasionally snacking, but this doesn’t mean eating the entire bag of chips or binging, even if it’s only one day a week. Contrary to the joke where an entire cake is only one piece if you believe in yourself, moderation is key;

“If Your Compassion Does Not Include Yourself, It Is Incomplete.”

– Jack Kornfield

3. Get Enough Sleep: Please take note that I didn’t say “get some sleep.” I said to get ENOUGH sleep. There’s a big difference, there. I recall a time where I could get away with five or six hours’ sleep and still function normally the next day. The problem with that kind of thing is that rejuvenating sleep is not cumulative. You can’t skimp on proper sleep all week and then sleep for twelve hours a night on the weekends. that won’t repair the damage it does. Proper sleep will greatly help in decreasing feelings of stress and anxiety one experiences. A rested mind will manage daily stress far better than the opposite;

5. Get A Hobby: Look, it may sound easier said than done but the purpose to life isn’t to simply go to work, come home and have dinner then flop on the couch and wait for bed. Wash, rinse and repeat. There needs to be some purpose to your life, whether that means playing with your kids, building models, playing with LEGO’s, whatever! There needs to be something that you do for yourself that takes you out of the humdrum habit of the daily grind; and

6. Find Your Inner Zen: Yes, I know! Not everyone is into religion or spirituality but you know what? You really don’t have to be, in order to reduce stress and anxiety within one’s life. Meditation, yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi… Hell, just go sit by the water and have some quiet, contemplative time to yourself. All of those things will go a long way towards helping you overcome stress and live a happier life.

Having some stress in life is normal. After all, a sense of urgency is necessary in order to reach and accomplish some goals. But if your stress is deep and affects your overall daily life, you may want to consider some of the above elements that can affect one’s overall ability to manage that stress. Your health’s be wellbeing are paramount to a happy life. And you can’t take care of others until you’ve learned to take care of yourself. Food for thought… ☯️