Any of you stressed? A few tips from Mayo Clinic…

Hi, as we have arrived in the midst of annual holiday times, I am reminded again of the choices that we have to make around this busy time of year?  In addition to our already challenging entrepreneurial ventures, we have all the OTHER stuff to get done by year end, right?

Are we going to choose to enjoy the season and find the happiness, joy, and renewal that is sung about in so many songs?

Are we going to let the deadlines that we set upon ourselves overwhelm us and make us grouchy?

Now, realistically, as we are all human, I am sure that there are not many of us who can fall into SOME time of stress during this season.  I think the stress is particularly tough as we sit in hugely challenging economic times.

And if you are one of the few lucky ones without economic pressures, don't all of us know SOMEONE who is or has lost their house and is on the brink.  And when those SOMEONEs are a sister, brother, cousin, or close friend….there goes our stress level again.

After all, much of the pressure this time of year is that we are all focused on helping OTHERS….getting that perfect present for a loved one, taking time to spend our time with friends and family, giving back to community whether it be a toy program, a food shelf or the Salvation Army.

So our pressure now is mostly because we SO want to do what we want to do for others….and that is way more pressure than taking care of ourselves, isn't it??

So, I am trying to make my motto this December to reach to do as much as I can BUT, do what I can and offer as much support as I can.

I found this article on Mayo Clinic's site "Stress, depression and the holidays: 10 tips for coping".  I share the tips and the link here because some of us can always use a few new tools to ponder…..that might just help!

Here are the 10 tips:

1. Acknowledge your feelings
2. Reach Out
3. Be Realistic
4. Set Aside Differences
5. Stick to a budget
6. Plan ahead
7. Learn to say no
8. Don't abandon health habits
9. Take a breather
10. Seek professional help if you need it.

Click here to get the full link to the article

Happy Holidays to ALL of you and I wish you all a wonderful rejuvinating time preparing for a PRODUCTIVE 2010!!

Barb