You think vampires are mere legend? Well, the "stress" statistics we see quoted everywhere suggest they are thriving. Most of us, it seems, are walking around as if we are being sucked dry by them.
A constant barrage of negative news, pressure from advertising, pressure from what others (might) think, pressures that we we ought to do this or should do that... pressure, pressure, pressure everywhere we turn. It sucks us dry and leaves us flat.
It's ironic that so many of us these days feel exhausted, when at the same time our comfortable lifestyles impose very little on us in the way of physical demands. Perhaps there lies the problem, and a potential solution?
There is nothing like a good physical workout ... a walk in the country, a run in the park, a round of sport or a session of dancing... to refresh our spirits. The trick is to get out of our heads and into our bodies more often.
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Some methods for getting out of our heads are most definitely to be avoided, like drugs & alcohol. They may well get us "out of our heads", but where do they take us? At the end of the day, they become an additional burden.
And I'm not talking just about so-called recreational drugs. For millions, the "treatment" for stress is prescribed drugs: prozac, valium.... Let's face it, in many cases the doctor is giving you those for his own benefit, to get you off his back by putting you onto yours. Not deliberately, of course, but that is what effectively happens.
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Much of the time when feel "whacked", it's not from the burden of any excess demands. Rather, it's because we simply do not want to be where we repeatedly find ourselves. For example, we inhabit jobs that we do not like, and routines (like commuting) that we hate even more, because we feel we "must". When we feel trapped by a "must", the only answer is "CHANGE WE MUST!" (Thank you, Barack Obama.)
We do all sorts of things because we feel pressured by our peers, parents, priests, politicians, partners, the press (pedlars of doom & gloom) and other persuasive pedlars (advertisers) of fake promises and false perfection, as well as the afore mentioned pharma industry. (It seems we need to be wary of anyone who can be described with a "P" word!)
All of these pressures take hold of a little piece of us: one little piece here, another there, until we only have a little piece left and we feel very small.
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So how do we escape, and what has all this got to do with our "A to Z for Success"?
Well, truly satisfying success is to take back all those little pieces of ourselves and re-discover what they all add up to: find what really satisfies our true desires, instead of laying ourselves out as prey for all the modern-day vampires.
As highlighted when we began this journey, there is no one simple cure-all. Rather, there are numerous factors in endless combinations. The central keys are the CHOICES we make, and AWARENESS of how we function in making those choices. It is vital (literally) to keep exploring all of these factors, digging deeper to discover what really is going on in our lives, what would serve us better, and how to succeed in making an effective transition.
Stick around, we will be doing just that, here in The Biggest Room. This series of posts has just scratched the surface. Each and every one of the topics could fill a book of its own. And that is what I am planning.
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Meanwhile, check out again the post that highlighted TREATS as a key element in any strategy for success. Could you make one of your treats a new sport or hobby that is physically active? Vampires hate chasing after someone who is physically fit.
Next, we will take a timely a look at WILL POWER. Many cite lack of it as an excuse for not following through with things like New Year resolutions. But maybe it is not quite so?
This post is part of "An A to Z for Success". See the side panel on the right for an index.