Managing Stress #10 Tell someone you love them.

Step 10: Tell someone you love them.

Even if they already know it. Tell them anyway. They may need to hear it.

Managing Stress #9 Throw away or sell some things you no longer need.

Step 9: Throw away or sell some things you no longer need.

Letting go of the things that are redundant is a healthy thing to do. After you have tried it once or twice, make a point of doing it once a month.

Managing Stress #8 Get through a day without spending any cash.

Step 8. Get through a day without spending any cash.

Try to be less of a consumer. You’ll find it liberating. As a student or a teenager you managed it everyday. Just for a change see if you can return to that state of mind.

Once you’ve done this once or twice, look for a few simple means of reducing expenditure. This could be as simple as driving less, or using public transport or your bicycle.

Did you know that in London, it’s not unusual to sit on a bus and find yourself next to a cabinet minister? Put aside your prejudice about public transport, and enjoy the cash you save.

Managing Stress #7 Spend less time at work.

Step 7: Spend less time at work.

It’s your life. Either through better organization, delegation or automation you should be able to reduce your workload a little. Some tasks are likely less important than you think. By addressing this you will be in better shape to do those tasks that actually are important.

List the top ten tasks you have to do. Arrange them in priority order. Take the bottom three and see if they can be handed off. Chances are there’s someone that will likely want the additional responsibility. Remember, you got into this state because you are probably doing too much. Make smart choices, and unload some of the workload.

Everyone likes to think they are essential. Most of them are wrong. Give yourself a break, and catch your breath.

Managing Stress #4 Take control of the communication in your life.

Step 4: Take control of the communication in your life.

Start to be selective about which calls you take. Do a little gate keeping. There are calls you can always take, sometimes take and never take. Sort the callers into groups and then apply the rules strictly. Your default position should be that the phone goes to voicemail. Doing this you can choose when to return calls. You get control back.

If you accept calls from people you don’t need to, you will end up wasting a great deal of time. When you waste time, you have less time to do the things that need to be done. This is a simple fact of life. We have voicemail for a reason. Use it.

Do the same with email. Some emails never need to be read, let alone responded to. Your time is precious. Recognize the fact and impose your rules.

Going Under Tonight - TV Pilot.

Some decisions are smarter than others...

Assuming a car costs $25,000, in the first year of depreciation you will see the value drop between $6,000 and $7,000 – assuming a buyer can be found at all on a one year old vehicle.

Many people selling after just one year experience a higher percentage loss, as they are selling into a market in which the buyer has many financing offers from car companies on the brand new models.

Buying a car second hand is often smarter, more satisfying and way cheaper in the long and short run.

The importance of listening - and how to do it!

Choosing priorities.

I have a dear friend in Japan, Ayako. She recently emailed me, following the earthquake they recently suffered.

"After the earthquake, everything has changed.
And now we totally know that no one can tell tomorrow will come.

I've been thinking a lot to start new thing.
I'm kind of fed up with working for the company.
I feel company only cares about money.
I need money, but I can not work just for money.

So today was good and very important day for me to refresh my mind.
Many successful people did speech and it was so interesting and new for me.

I think I should concentrate on more what I want and what I need to do."

All too often we forget why we work. If it is purely for money, then your life will be about nothing but money. Believe me, in the work I do I can say categorically that is a path of misery.

I wrote back to Ayako, and have included some of the details below:

"Work is a means to a lifestyle - not just a means to earn a living.

It's my sincere belief that is how our lives should be organised. No one has a right to demand corporate loyalty at the expense of the employees lifestyle or well being. Sadly many companies have no such scruples and expect extreme sacrifices from their staff. This is a clear case of 'missing the point'.

At Vancouver Hypnotherapy our goal is to look after clients who need our help. Additionally we need to make a living, so I try to charge a fair rate. Much of this is passed back to employees. Some is retained to sustain the company as a functional entity.

No one, today or yesterday, knows what tomorrow will bring. For you the earthquake was a reminder of this - but it is something we should all do well to remember. If it is a wake up call, a pivotal moment, then it's great that you take that terrible experience and make it a life changing one.'

RH

Don't worry - it'll probably never happen.

Have you ever noticed, most of the things you worry about are actually things that never actually happen. It's a good idea to have a reality check now and then. Take a look at the three things you worried about most over the last week.

Did any of them actually happen?

Probably not.

Next time you have to expend valuable time and energy on worrying about something, ask yourself, 'How likely is this really?' The chances are, you are much more worried about it than anybody else.

Bigger Yachts.

My office overlooks beautiful False Creek, in Vancouver, BC. It is a spectacular view, with the snow capped mountains in the distance, and a marina in the foreground.

In the marina I can see people's yachts and their power cruisers. Each year the yachts seem to get a little bigger, and a little more ostentatious. Yet, in my experience, their owners do not seem to get any happier.


There will always be someone with a bigger yacht and someone with a faster car, no matter how hard you try. Happiness and satisfaction are within yourself. The rest means nothing.