|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clear the
clutter from the road to a stress free life
What’s stopping you from having a stress free
life? Is it the McMansion you thought you
wanted, but now spend more time cleaning and
maintaining than enjoying? Or is it your high
status, 6 figure job that you love bragging
about to your friends but is secretly sucking
your soul?
Take a minute to think about your ideal life.
Does it include having the “right” job working
60 hours a week just so you can come home and
collapse in front of the TV in the gigantic
living room of your 5 bedroom house in the
“right” neighborhood? Are you working to support
a life you can’t even enjoy? Have you considered
that your job and house are distractions
cluttering your path to the life you really want
and need to maintain your health and sanity?
There is more anxiety and depression in the US
than ever before. Americans are in hot pursuit
of acquiring the McMansions, the cars, the
boats, the clothes, the spouse, the job to
complete them. The stress of a rushed life and
the lack of fulfillment that results from
keeping up appearances is a vicious unhealthy
cycle.
Typical Day of an American
1. Wake up at 6a.
2. Get dressed in clothes that you don’t own and
still owe on your Nordstrom’s credit card.
3. Tired, drink coffee.
4. Get kids up—dress them in clothes you don’t
own and still owe on your Nordstrom’s credit
card.
5. Eat high sugar breakfast—or no breakfast at
all.
6. Drive to work in gigantic SUV that you don’t
own and will probably be paying off for next 5
years—lots of traffic—road rage—stress—high gas
prices. Arrive at work angry.
7. Monotony at work. Cubicle. Chained to desk.
More coffee. A donut.
8. More monotony. More coffee.
9. Lunch out with co-workers—probably high in
sugar. Paid for on credit card at 13% interest.
Soda with more caffeine.
10. More monotony at work.
11. Something kind of interesting happens at
work.
12. More monotony. Only 37 minutes ‘til go-time.
13. Drive home in gigantic SUV—lots of
traffic—road rage—stress—high gas prices. Arrive
at McMansion (that you don’t own and have a
variable interest rate that will probably go up
next year and every year after that for the next
30 years) angry and exhausted.
14. Too tired to make dinner. Order stuffed
crust pizza.
15. Feeling depressed and anxious. Can’t
understand why. New Anti-depressants must not be
working. Decide to make appointment with doctor
tomorrow.
16. Consider walking the dog, but too tired.
Zone out in front of the TV with 300 channels—5
of which you actually watch. Dog stares at you
sadly. Perhaps she’s depressed, you think.
Decide to make appointment with veterinarian
17. Time for bed. Take sleeping pill.
18. Lay in bed thinking of how you’ll make up
for the unfulfilling week on the weekend with
shopping, meals out, movies and SeaWorld.
19. Blessed, heavy, drug induced, dreamless
sleep takes over.
If this sounds like you, you are not alone and
you are normal.
Although advertisements would
have you think the “right” car or “right” house
or “right” clothes will make you happy. They
won’t. They’ll just leave you wanting more and
more and bigger and better. Then when you get
the stuff you’ll wonder why the happiness is
short lived, think there must be something wrong
with you and go on anti-depressants.
Chart your time for a week. Where can you
eliminate stress? Here are a few things:
1. Forgo the expensive shopping trip this
weekend and walk your poor, sad, fat dog. You’ll
feel guilt free for two reasons: You didn’t
charge any more to your credit card and your dog
will stop moping after you with big, sad eyes.
Besides exercise is a great stress reliever and
releases feel-good endorphins.
2. Cancel the cable. It’s one more thing you
don’t have to pay for, and you’ll spend less
time channel surfing and watching advertisements
that leave you feeling unfulfilled and desiring
more.
3. Sell the McMansion you spend more time
working to keep than enjoying.
4. Sell the gigantic SUV you spend more time
working to keep than enjoying.
5. Move closer to work, or work closer to home
to avoid the long stressful commute—or work off
hours to avoid traffic.
Merely becoming conscious of the clutter in your
life is the first step to a more stress-free
life.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
