Recently our entire team completed 8 weeks of “Stress Surfing Lessons.” Dr. Randall’s husband is a psychologist and has been working with people to reduce their stress for years. He demonstrated different meditation techniques and practical things you can do to manage the inevitable stresses that come up in your life. With weekly homework assignments it was more than just sitting around listening to Dr. Randall (the other one) drone on. You can’t learn to “surf” sitting in a classroom. Here are some things the staff thought were helpful:
1. We are “human-beings, not human-doings. Take some time out of the “doing mode” and train your “being mode.”
2. To Do lists are great but as soon as you check it off the list your brain forgets about it. Try keeping a “Done List” so when your brain tries to say you didn’t get much done you have concrete proof that it ain’t true.
3. “The grass is not greener on the other side of the fence. The grass is greener where you water the grass.” What is a small thing or two you can do today to “water your grass.”(or the grass of someone you love.)
We would all like for the waves in our life to settle down and be like Lake Michigan on those windless days that let you hunt Petosky stones in the shallow water. The bad news is you can’t stop the waves. The good news is… you can learn to surf!
