When things get intense in your life what do you do?

So often I speak to clients about their habits when they become stressed out, some reach for sugary drinks and some people will not set aside “me time”. We maybe thinking we need a break, sometimes the impulse is to take a day off work. This can sometimes stress us out even more.

But where is the balance?

This is what I like to achieve in 90% of my days;

I have learned in my 15 years of being a performance athlete and now having a career and family that there is huge benefit in practicing these good habits everyday and not just when times get tough.

Why? because those tough times will become less and less.

Just like, missing a gym session to spend more time with your family, like taking an extra long break to catch up with a friend or putting the phone away when you are with company. These good habits build up over time however they are not a short term fix it trick.

Making your intentions clear at the beginning of each day will allow you to spend that important time you need to balance the yin and yang sides of life.

Here are some ways you can help achieve this;

1. Write down three things that would make you happy today. Keep these in a diary or somewhere you can go back and log similar statements weekly or monthly.

2. Be happy to sit in your own head space. Every now and again stop and think do I need to connect with others, or myself? You might realise you are good company for you, and this will open your mind up to being still and present more often.

3. Make time to have a short holiday every day. Think of those times when we head away for our holiday breaks, we switch off from stress and enjoy life. Why does this happen? We are ready to break away from work and difficult demands. This allows us to have perspective. Think about it, as soon as we get onto that flight we start thinking how lucky we are, how we love to spend time with our families and friends and why we are so lucky to have these opportunities. Well, why cant we do this everyday? 10 minutes everyday will allow us to avoid high intensity stress levels and allow the bigger picture to take over. Its a win win in my book.

4. Be still at the beginning of each day to shut off the noise. Leave the phone, leave the TV and distractions. Choose a space in your home where there is good light and quiet. Choose to be still for a few moments. You can build up this time from a minute and work your way up to 10-15 minutes.

5. Write down your intentions for each week and stick to it. These intentions could be something like, “I will take 10 minutes for myself everyday for mindfulness”, or “I will make someone else feel special about themselves today”. This also helps you with perspective and give you the ‘why’ back in your week.

So go ahead and make a holiday in everyday with more ‘ME’ time.