LIGHTEN Your Day

Book excerpt: Stress is all around us—at work, at home, online … you name it. A simple Google search on stress will pull up over one billion results on what stress is, types of it, what causes it, symptoms, and what you can do about it. But we don’t need Google to tell us if we’re stressed: the reality is, we know it because our mind and body are delivering clear signals that we are taxing ourselves. The problem is that we don’t have the time to figure out how to deal with stress in the now, and then we stress out about not being able to deal with our stress: a vicious circle. Sure, you could buy a book or download an app on meditating, or breathing, or journaling, or exercising. You could open the book or app and give it a try, but it probably didn’t work. Why? Maybe you didn’t give it enough time. Maybe you tried it while also responding to 100 emails. Maybe the techniques provided were too complicated or time-intensive, so now you’re frustrated and thinking “I’ve got this really important meeting/presentation this morning, where I have to be at my best. Isn’t there some tool or technique that can help me right now, in this moment?” The answer is yes! If you flip through this book you will see that there are hundreds of fast, effective, and easy tips and tools designed specifically to be used in the now. Why so many? Because you are unique, so there is no such thing as a one-size fits all tool for stress relief. What works for one person may not work for someone else. The book’s foundation is the LIGHTEN™ Model, and the tools suggested are organized around the areas of your life that need to be nurtured in order to achieve long-term stress relief: Livelihood (career), Imagination, Genius (unconscious mind), Health, Time, Environment, and Network (relationships). If you are stressed about hitting your sales quota, take a look at the Livelihood or Time chapter. Worried about that next presentation? The Imagination chapter has some great techniques. Anxious about your next doctor’s appointment? Check out the Genius or Health chapter. Meeting your in-laws? The Network chapter is the place to go. The intent of this book is that you keep it handy for whenever or wherever you need it: that important meeting/presentation, that difficult conversation you need to have, the multiple priorities all needing your attention right now, or anything else that stresses you out when shit happens. If you just have a couple minutes to spare to get some quick-and-easy stress relief, this book is for you.