Every week I have to think of a new subject to write for you.
300 witty words of how to’s and inspiration.
I’m never stressed.
Even when my assistant is screaming for the copy.
I’m relaxed.
But find me five minutes late for a meeting…
Cue: frantic fidgeting, increased heart rate and I’m sure a few extra mmHg’s of blood pressure.
Ask the average person to give a 5 minute presentation in front of six colleagues and the panic palpitations are activated days before.
Give me 60 minutes with an audience of 3,000 and I’m in my element!
I love it… to prove it watch this.
This is called the Dual Nature of challenges.
And here’s the exciting part.
You have a choice.
The challenge is remembering to remember the choices.
I think the best way is with this question:
Should I be feeling stressed or blessed?
Most of the time with a little thought and soul searching the situations that cause you stress can be reframed as a blessing.
‘I have to go to hospital’
or
‘We have a hospital’
*400million people have NO access to any health care (World Health Organisation).
‘I hate doing presentations. My boss made me do it and I’ll look stupid.’
or
‘My team are onside and I’ve been chosen to do this.’
*Employees who show a willingness to present significantly increase their chances of promotion (Glassdoor)
‘This traffic is a nightmare! I’m going to be late.’
or
‘I’m safe, dry and comfortable with a magical device I can use to call ahead.’
I know, it’s easy when reading this.
Harder when you’re in the thick of it.
The solution?
A daily gratitude list.
Taking two or three minutes to list a few things you’re grateful for each day, not only reduces stress, it helps you rehearse accessing the blessings for when you do need them.
Where and what do you do to flip stressed for blessed?
I’ll send a copy of my Sunday Times No.1 Best-Selling Book, Flip It how to get the best out of everything, to our favourite.
Please leave your comments below.
Be Brilliant!
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When my healing coach suggested the next time I meditate I ask for a symbol that represents the disabling and debilitating disease I’ve been living, I was expecting a dark/heavy image. Imagine my surprise when a tulip appeared. Upon googling the spiritual meaning of tulip it was described as “a gift”. I have since seen what I’ve been living with all this time as a gift and able to reflect on all the opportunities it’s opened up to me as opposed to what I’ve lost🙏
I’m grateful that my small family are safe, well and have a home over their heads.
I’m also thankful for people who have come along in my life and uplifted, inspired and encouraged me when it is really needed and I count Michael Heppell at the top of the list. Cheesy or not, tis true. XX
Write your own well-being recipe. Choose Four things you know lift you up when you’re down Can be big or small. A favourite of mine lighting a candle and watching the energy of the flame.
We have had a lot of trauma in our lives so as soon as we feel in a stressful situation we say “ Does this get on ‘the list’?
It only gets taken seriously if it involves ,illness hospital or impending death ! Anything else simply can be sorted ! It’s all about perspective .
I think my frame of reference is very much skewed by my life defining experience of my daughter Annaliese dying. In truth, very little in life is truly important – there’s always a way to fix, change, manage etc.. There’s a reason ‘it’s not life or death’ or ‘nobody died today’ are phrases people use to try and gain perspective. I feel her death has helped me have a totally new perspective.
As a sufferer of chronic pain and fatigue, it takes a huge effort to find the positives when I have to stay in bed, but here they are:
my bed is so cosy
I don’t have to go to work (retired)
my family fuss over me
tomorrow is going to be so much better
I can listen to the radio all day
I get lovely messages from my friends
…. and now I can add
inspirational, thought-provoking emails from Michael Hepple!!
Thank you
When I’m stressed, I ask myself three things:
1. What’s the worst that can happen?
Ans:
a) If the worst is already happening – then don’t stress it can only get better.
b) If it isn’t then stop stressing, it could be worse.
2. Can I do anything about it?
Ans:
a) If I can, then i need to be calm, so don’t stress.
b) If I can’t, there is no point in being stressed.
3. Will it matter in 10 years time?
Ans:
The answer is almost always – No. so stop stressing.
or, you could fill in a comment without spell checking – that’s stressful!!!!!!😂
I have 2 responses- general life- I used to be stressed all the time. Nurses workload when managing complex caseloads is hard. driving late, late to a meeting, stuck on a call with a parent so I overrun my lunch/hometime/another call. I started to ask myself- and it’s dramatic, but I love drama- “but will anyone die?”. So if I’m 5 mins late for work, will anyone die? If I am late for a meeting, will anyone in the meeting die? The answer is always NO- there is very little in life that we can’t smile through, we can ride the waves of stress, take a deep breath, always be blessed!
My other comment-
Blessed or stressed?
You can choose to be stressed by living with mental health or blessed that the person continues to be here when you wake up.
You can be stressed by starting new medication and the side effects and risks or blessed that the medicine is available in this life
You can be stressed by the constant daily appointments or blessed that services are available to support
You can be stressed that suddenly your life is turned upside down or blessed that there is still the chance your life will turn back the right way
You can be stressed that suicide risk surrounds your family member or blessed that they trusted you enough to tell you.
Everything in life is literally like the flip of a coin- stressed or blessed?! When you feel the stress creeping, click your fingers, flip the coin, see a totally different vista- ⭐️
I simply remind myself that there are many people in the world who have to battle to feed themselves each day, and how easy is my life by comparison?
1. Try to observe it. I fail. But try. What’s going on really?
2. Remind self I have a choice in how I react.
3. Recognise when I am being a prat & creating stress. Why do this to myself?!
4. If need quick fix, pull ridiculous faces in mirror to break thought pattern or feeling bad. Did this week again. Works a treat. Shows I can choose to generate the opposite to how I feel. You feel so stupid it’s hilarious. Can’t help but laugh.
5. That all leads to: isn’t it amazing we, with our amazing human machinery, can laugh! That then opens up total awe about the physical, walking AI miracles we are but don’t stop to truly think or appreciate. Just the complex process alone of vision is mind blowing!
We are on the way to Folkstone get the shuttle to start out 3 week mini european tour with the kids. Is time going abroad in 15 years……. And the camper van has broken down!!
Blessed – we managed to make it to a service station, the recovery people only took about 30 mins to turn up, He couldn’t fix it but suggested a local campsite we could stay at and they are sending someone to hopefully fix it in the morning.
We will miss the shuttle, but thankfully I booked travel insurance so hopefully we will be able to make a claim for a delayed trip.
Hopefully we will make it on our planned trip a little later than planned and whilst i’m not looking forward to the bill to fix the van, we have food in the fridge and beds to sleep in and we are all in good health so really we cannot complain.