“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” Chinese Proverb by Kay Cooke

It is pretty easy to feel stressed out from time to time, wouldn’t you agree?

Sometimes we simply place too much pressure upon ourselves in an effort to pursue some mythically perfect existence.

The thing about stress is that it comes from feeling you have no choice about something(s). Yet by recognising the choices inherent in any situation (however bizarre), we can regain a sense of being in control and stress less. Here are a few choices:

1. Simply acknowledge and celebrate what you’ve already achieved with a ‘look what I’ve done today’ list.

2. If music sets your mood, switch it on, turn it up and have a blast!
3. Be kind to your best friend. Make your best friend you.
4. Be silly! Unleash the 6-year-old within.
5. Say ‘thank you’ for the simplest of things in life.
6. Remember that if you fail to plan you plan to fail – so get planning a bigger brighter future full of wanton pleasure, delight and laughter.
7. Sing. At the top of your voice.
8. Meditate. Go inside and find a quiet moment.
9. Move. Dance, walk, jog, cycle, swim, or simply get up and change chairs.
10. Ask yourself what precisely would you be doing differently now if you only had a few months left in this lifetime …