Fight stress with a hobby

By chuck morriS

Your eyes open and as you squint, trying to make out what the dull orange-tinted numbers show on the bedside clock, a mumbled curse leaks from your lips.

It may be too warm, or the mattress is lumpy, or dinner was eaten too late in the evening and is now not sitting well. Perhaps you may be trying to find a solution to move the report off your desk before the deadline. Whatever it is when you awaken at 2:07 in the morning and find yourself wide awake, something is the cause. Could it be because you are so busy at work you are not getting things completed in a timely fashion? Could it be stress that keeps you awake at night?

All of us from time to time fret over conundrums we find ourselves immersed in. How you deal with it may determine how you sleep tonight. If you can, take a step back and think it through. Which project you are working on needs to be completed first? All three have the same ‘deadline’ date and all three are labour intensive. None can be delegated to someone else. That’s a problem and something else may suffer because of your commitment to complete them.

We often find ourselves looking at these type of situations and wonder why they happen. You receive instructions to gather data for specific projects, whether they be physical building construction or a new endeavour to produce a large document for a specific and important

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purpose. Problem could be that as you receive this information you also are made aware the deadline for submission is early next week. To add to that, you are already up to your neck with other work that is dictated by their own deadlines and are equally important to the operation.

How we handle stress is very important to our well-being. It can make us ill. There is a vast array of information online to assist a person to turn things around. Your doctor can also help you learn how to handle the situations that cause it and hopefully mitigate it before your own health is adversely affected.

A number of our peers deal with it in a variety of ways. For some it boils down to just plain old thinking. Take time in your calendar to stop and do nothing but think for 30 minutes. Don’t have time? Yes you do. Thinking can calm a person down and thinking strategically can often bring forth new ideas that you may want to investigate. For others it may be long walks each evening to provide that exercise and fresh air. There are a wide variety of ways we cope.

A good friend of mine likes to ridge walk. He drives to a location where he can climb a local mountain. Once above the tree line he seeks the ridge and spends hours enjoying the solitude and view. Where he lives he does need to be aware of grizzlies as he climbs; I have seen some pretty awesome photographs. Another friend spends

How we handle stress is very important to our well-being. It can make us ill. There is a vast array of information online to assist a person to turn things around. Your doctor can also help you learn how to handle the situations that cause it and hopefully mitigate it before your own health is adversely affected.

his free time fly fishing (with his spouse). It is a great way to unwind, be with someone you love, and enjoy Mother Nature at the same time.

Yet another friend of mine, near retirement age, spends his time building things that intrigue him. Things like an old riding lawnmower into what looks like an old truck he drives in local parades. Or, build and maintain an Oldsmobile 442 that will knock your socks off. His engine(s) are built in California and he races in Pro Class where he has won a number of times. He was telling me he cannot use rubber motor mounts like the rest of us have in our tamer vehicles, but must use steel as the other type would just tear off.

Dealing with stress through hobbies that divert your attention and allow your body to relax and regenerate is important. Many of us have ways to do so and the consequence is a happier life and a body that just may reject some of the stressors that are out there. n

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