10 Ways to Fry Your System

I wanted to share a few ways I’ve figured out how to fry my system. They’re tried and true. Trust me,

have a go at these and you’ll be stressed to the limit in no time.

You are welcome.

The 10…

Expect Perfection from Yourself & Others

I’m not a perfectionist, but I find it’s the moments when I demand perfection from myself or others that I am quickly disappointed. Push yourself, yes. Help others to know what you value and expect. But also leave room for imperfections. Sometimes those allow for the most effective and life-impacting growth.

Consume Too Much & Sit All the Livelong Day

I combined these two into one because they are sort of a gimme. And they’re covered in every health magazine every single issue. Overindulgence of food or drink (especially on a regular basis and not just when you wedding crash or celebrate a big birthday) is guaranteed to leave you with little energy to spare. Lack of exercise will turn your body to jelly and it won’t just hurt to climb the stairs, it’ll hurt to walk from one room to the next. Think, no one wants to carry you through life. Better to carry yourself with strength.

Forget to Laugh

Take yourself too seriously. Go ahead, try it. See how it works for you. I really believe laughter is one of the greatest medicines known to man. It often accompanies humility and perspective. They’re a mighty fine threesome.

Go Hard All Day & Night

I have this tricky thing that’s been happening with me lately. I’ve been doing some insane plotting and writing in my sleep. Wonderful, you say. Double duty, you think. To which I respond, no--emphatic no. I can personally attest to the fact that burning the candle at both ends like this compromises my peak brain function during the daytime hours. Go hard, yes. But structure hours for this. No human is meant to mimic a fake pink bunny playing the drums twenty-four-seven.

Entertain Negative Thoughts

Wallow in them. Believe every lie at its core. Marinate in the absurd, the outlandish and the malicious. Have a party for these thoughts and watch for yourself how they’ll trash your place and leave it a bloody mess.

Invite Worry into Every Relationship & Scenario

Moms have a secret oath we agree to the second our babies leave our bodies. Somewhere inside us we buy into the misguided notion if we worry we can sway the circumstances or the end results. Given this one is born from a strong sense of caring, you don’t need me to tell you worry is a magnificent timewaster. I’ve allowed hours to tick by when I’ve worked myself into a tizzy about four hundred devastating potentials only to be mocked when not a single one of my imagined scenarios plays out. How’s that for quality time management?

Answer to Everybody but Yourself

Pull an Igor and make everyone else in charge of your life. Become a people pleaser with little sense of pride. Great way to lose a solid sense of yourself. And tire yourself out faster than I can say, “Yes, Master.”

Become a Slave to Technology

Better yet let the Internet, your phone, or social media own your day. Whew, I’m wiped out just thinking about trying to keep up with the ever-changing scope of online communication.

Be Afraid of Changing a Routine or Life Pattern

Something’s not working? Stay the course, the exact same course you’ve been running hard at for five years. Then again, you could always take a risk. Mix things up. Learn to breathe again by stepping out.

Believe Doctor Visits Are for Sissies

A few months ago a dear friend of mine was diagnosed with lung cancer. She could have blown off her cough. I know I have a tendency to put off a call to my doctor, convincing myself that everyone in my family (and the entire world) come before me. I’m so thankful my friend made that doctor’s appointment because she gave herself the chance to fight beautifully and that’s exactly what she’s been doing. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more joyful person.

I know you can’t wait to go try some of these. I won’t keep you. Go for it. What have you got to lose? Oh, that’s right. Your health, energy, strength, stamina…and so much more.

What runs you down the quickest?

*Bonus, just for giggles overbook your schedule and over-commit yourself. C’mon, you know you want to. ;-)

Know What Keeps You Sane

Between the nightly school events to attend, work demands my husband has been dealing with, writing transitions, as well as a flurry of other stressors competing for my attention, I’ve learned the necessity of relying on my go-to list. For the sake of my sanity. What’s a go-to list? It’s a compilation of tried-and-true, time-tested methods that are sure to either put me in a state of peace or light a needed fire under me.

Here are some of the methods on my list…

Go for a run.

Grab a paintbrush and paint something—anything.

Carve out a day—an entire day—to write. Something. Anything.

Read a book with an addictive plot or hook-me writing.

Dance or be goofy with my kids.

Pet the dog for at least five minutes.

Spend time reflecting in a state of gratitude.

Get outside.

Soak in the tub. Lock the door. ;-)

Watch a movie like Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect, or Couples Retreat (so wrong, but oh so right). Boom.

Reach out when I’ve been alone with my thoughts too long.

Encourage others when I begin to feel defeated.

Be emphatic about not giving up.

It’s not a comprehensive list. These are just a few of my lifesavers. But they work. They’re my reboot, do-overs and mind simmers. Do you have a list of things that help you to stay sane?

Breathe Life Into Me

I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly I needed to pray. But a place for this indiscernible prayer hollowed out my insides. I felt the atrophy as one feels weakened by a fever. I felt in need…a quaking in me to ask. 

But ask what?

How could I, would I take the time to pinpoint the longing with a myriad of needs pressing in on me, pulling me, and spinning me with tornadic force?

Then I stepped outside and captured this photo…

And blue as the sky, it pierced me—what I needed to ask. All that had begun to dry up and brittle synched with clarity. A strengthening of my bones sprung from the asking.

Breathe life into me.

In the hurried.

“Mom, I can’t find my cleats” two minutes before practice. Breathe life into me.

In the stress.

Awake after hours of wrestling with sleep, declaring myself the loser and retreating downstairs for a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats. Breathe life into me.

In the weakness.

I can’t go through this again. This loss. This turmoil of the familiar bleeding into this relationship. Remove the pain. Breathe life into me.

In all the change.

New job. Church. Close friends moving. House renovations. Writing decisions. Contact with loved ones. Breathe life into me.

In the clogged funnel of roles.

Work a little longer. Get child to orthodontist. Pump out another few thousand words. Lungs begging for a solid run. Book club. Bible. Dog threw up. Teacher appreciation day. Breathe life into me.

In all that I am.

Wounded. Saved. Wrecked. Amped. Sensitive. Creative. Passionate. Questioning. Feisty. Restless. Open. Vulnerable. Roaring. Wandering the endless maze of my synapses. Breathe life into me.

And all I’ll never be.

Perfect. Breathe life into me.

And looking up into the shock of this tree I woke up to it, to what I needed.

For life to be breathed into my soul.

Because moments pass quickly and days are swallowed whole in the blink of time. I ached for my life to have breath restored, surging in me, my spiritual lungs on fire again.

As I write this I still feel the whisper of his breath grazing my soul, filling the hollow place of asking, needing, wanting, lacking. And it is, indeed, good.

And life is revived. Even in the asking. In the humbling act of petitioning, he’s already exhaling. Giving and giving and giving.

Have you ever been blessed in the asking?

“God, the Master, told the dry bones, ‘Watch this: I’m bringing the breath of life to you and you’ll come to life. I’ll attach sinews to you, put meat on your bones, cover you with skin, and breathe life into you. You’ll come alive and you’ll realize that I am GOD!’” Message 37:4

8 Indicators I Have Allowed Stress to Body Snatch Me

Life tends to get a little crazy this time of year. End of school activities, recitals, conferences, coaching soccer, teacher appreciation…you name it. (And that’s not even to mention what’s going on with my writing career.) Though, stress can sneak up on me at any time. And when it does there are usually a handful of indicators that it’s trying to body snatch me right out of my skin.

They are:

While I’m coaching a soccer game my “Go to the ball” encouragement quickly turns to “At least move your two feet an inch, one teeny tiny inch, will ya?” (I jest, but only a little.)

I forget the pill. Yes, that pill. And there’s to be no forgetting that pill around here. We’re all out of babies.

I pick fights with weeds. Yeah, it’s been done. I’ve yanked, tugged, and then yelled at a particularly stubborn one in my time. So proud.

I start a lot of sentences…

Things constantly end up where they don’t belong. I find pens in the fridge. I leave my keys everywhere other than where they’re supposed to be. It’s like an ongoing game of Hide-N-Seek with myself. It was also very freaky reading Still Alice when this kind of stress kicked it.

I toss and turn in my bed to the point where I convince myself I have restless leg syndrome. To the point where I wrestle long enough and flip floppy enough I throw my hands in the air and retreat downstairs for a bowl of Raisin Bran…which brings me to my next indicator…

I stress eat.

Finally, I know I’m at risk of being body snatched by stress when my response to “What’s for dinner?” is “Woo hoo, we’re having eggs and cereal for the 3^rd night in a row!”

What are your clues that stress is attempting to snatch your body?

*photo by stock.XCHNG