Stressed? Of course, who isn't.
Have you ever been driving along and think
“that guy is a complete moron”?
I do it all the time, except I try and keep it in my head. It really doesn’t do much good to yell at people.
Most people are on the phone
Most people aren’t paying much attention to the world around them.
Lately, it seems to me that the race to the red light is heating up. Now ponder this for a moment, if you are passing someone only to mash on the brakes at a stop light, here are a few things you may want to consider.
- You might need less coffee in the morning.
- A less stressful job.
- More roses to smell.
- More economical car because of the gas you waste.
- A lifetime membership to a local brake repair shop.
Peace is a very valuable word right now. We could also refer to it as patience. Patience may be the one skill to solve many problems. Patience keeps your car running better, it makes your marriage nearly unbreakable, it keeps your head cool and allows your brain to solve all your problems.
Problem solve in 5 minutes
I can attest to the challenge many of you will have with today's exercise.
Many, many people are very stressed right now about money, their jobs, their future, and a host of other things.I understand. But trying to race around and solve problems can be counter-productive. Creativity and problem solving comes from within you, much like inspiration and health.
Some of my best newsletters are written in one sitting, because I have this flood of instantaneous creativity that I have to write down immediately.
Those inspiring moments are not while I’m watching a football game, making supper, or adjusting patients. My best inspiration comes from quiet time, in the shower, in meditation, and even in the middle of the night. Your brain works on problems all the time, but when it is so preoccupied with task after task, the solutions stay behind the curtain.
Find a quite moment every day for 5 minutes and do NOTHING but listen to your breathing, and then be amazed at the thoughts that come flooding through your brain.I can tell you from personal experience that a solution can exist right under your nose, and with the hustle and bustle of activity, it is easy to miss.
This might be harder than you think. Let me know how it goes.
So for all of you skeptics. How tough will it be on you if you miss a red light, seriously? Is your schedule so tight you’d risk life and limb for yourself and the others around you. Try this for a week and see how you feel about red lights after that.
I get the sense you might not believe me.
All I Learned From The Ocean.
I spent some time staring at the ocean. I have done that many times over my life and the ocean never ceases to hypnotize me. It has the power to support life and destroy life, to create fun and pleasure and heart ache and sorrow.
Thus goes the roller coaster of life, like the waves of the ocean. Sometimes the bumps are small and other times they are tsunami’s. Even the richest person didn’t get there without some trouble. Even the most peaceful person had turbulence in their life otherwise how would you know what peace was? You can’t avoid stress, but what you can do is let it roll through you like the ocean.
“If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this:
Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.” -Ann Landers
If you ever go body surfing and spend anytime in a wave you realize a few things quickly.
#1 Don’t fight the ocean
After the wave dumps you and you remain stiff and struggle for the surface you are going to get hurt. If you let your body be loose and flow with the water the energy of the wave will pass through you and your body will wiggle and shake but you won’t get hurt. Once the wave passes you can easily swim to the surface.
#2 Don’t fight the ocean
Let’s say you want to swim towards the beach and you are Michael Phelps. He is a pretty good swimmer. If you get caught in a rip tide and the ocean decides you don’t need to go to the beach it will pull you farther away no matter how strong you are. If you swim straight against a rip tide, you lose. Think of it as swimming straight into trouble. You can’t deny that there is a problem, because you are in it. You probably swam into it without even realizing it. You need to swim sideways until the current is small enough to overcome.
Some problems can be tackled head on, but large problems often require a more subtle approach. If a large problem develops and your mind is racing and you are panicking you can’t see clearly and you are wasting precious energy. Stress and busyness are distractions for the mind. After a week of sitting by the ocean I noticed one thing. People are in a real hurry to get somewhere.
Your project this week
- Go get some sand / dirt and put it a jar and add water.
- Screw the top on and give it a shake. Cloudy right!
- Keep shaking it until it settles. Come on shake it harder.
- Just shake it in one direction so the sand will settle.
- Not happening, right!
- Put the jar down and let it sit for a few hours. It will settle all by itself.
Your mind works the same way. You can’t ask your mind to do a million tasks and expect it to perform flawlessly in a stressful situation. The calm mind can be focused and solve problems very well.
I always knew I had rocks in my head. The easiest way I have found to be at peace with the world around me is to sit and do nothing.
I know it sounds obvious, but try it. Let the sand in your mind settle. Sit and listen to your breathing for 5 minutes, every day, in a silent room. It's harder than you think.
- Dr. Altman
P.S. Today's post was a sample of one of my classes on healthy living. If you want more lessons on how healthy people live try our Free online classes. They are my gift to the world. After working with tens of thousands of patients over the past 15 years, I am very keenly aware of what makes healthy people tick. It really is not complicated, but there are so many distractions out there, that people are easily misled. Every lesson is meant to be simple, straight forward and make logical sense. Enjoy.
P.P.S. Being healthy takes work and is one of the few things you can't buy when you need it. Healthy people have healthy habits that they do on a daily basis irregardless of how they feel. I feel great NOW if I buy organic food or non-organic food, but I buy organic food now so I'll feel great in the future. This is the fundamental reason for the classes, to learn daily habits that will help you feel amazing now and 20 years from now.