Many of today’s workers are faced with a stressful caregiving situation as their parents become more and more dependent. Even if you don’t have an aging parent living with you, there’s a good chance you could be “on call”. Mom may fall and break her hip while she’s home alone; Dad might have a memory lapse and be found wandering the streets. As the emergency contact, you’re the one who is asked to come and sort things out.

If a health issue is ongoing, FMLA may kick in. This provides you with legally protected (but unpaid) leave to care for an ill family member if you work for a company with 50+ employees. However, when you pitch in to care for a mother or father in-law FMLA does not apply. So far, the law hasn’t caught up with the realities of elder caregiving. It’s up to employers to decide when and if emergency time off will be granted or if you will be fired for attendance violations.

Some Employers Have a Double Standard

Many employers seem to have a compassionate attitude about parents having to leave the office suddenly when a dependent child needs them. Part of this has to do with a wariness of being accused of discriminating against women. After all, it’s still usually Mom who gets the call to deal with a child-related emergency – even if both parents work.

However, employers don’t always view the elder caregiving relationship as a serious commitment. Apparently, they figure you can just get someone else to step in and take care of an emergent need. Unlike in the UK, there is currently no law protecting U.S. employees’ right to put family first in these situations. Employees can’t afford to wait for the law to catch up – they need to start negotiating for changes in the workplace now.

Start Advocating Early

Fortunately, according to statistics published by the Sloan Work and Family Research Network, over 80% of both large and small companies are willing to allow employees to take some time off for elder care. So, the chances of reaching an agreement are high. Just be aware that asking for “special treatment” on an ongoing basis isn’t the best approach unless you are also offering to give something back (e.g. take on additional responsibilities or accept a cut in pay).

Negotiate for Changes in Policy

Is your employer among those who are less inclined to grant emergency leave for workers with aging parents? You will need to make a stronger argument for why a change in policy/benefits will be good for everyone. With the aging Baby Boomer generation greatly increasing the demands on caregivers, employers can’t ignore these needs for much longer. Offering elder care related benefits, moral support, and flexible scheduling arrangements can actually increase productivity for employees with aging parents. It has also been shown to decrease absenteeism – and presenteeism (workers handling caregiving issues on the clock).

Here are some great links to research that clearly shows why companies need to revisit their stance on this issue:

Why It Makes Good Business Sense to Help Employees with Emergency Eldercare Needs

Report on the Impact of Corporate Eldercare Programs

Advice for Employees and Employers

HR’s Viewpoint on Elder Care Issues

Elder Caregiving Statistics

Hopefully, these resources will help you present a compelling case for why your employer will actually increase profitability by accommodating workers with elder caregiving responsibilities. After all, your parents were there for you growing up, you need the flexibility to be for them now.

Listen To An Amazing Live Interview With Tony About Workplace Stress – Click Here!

Mr. Tony Deblauwe

Tony Deblauwe is a Workplace Expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
He is an award-winning and regular contributor to career social networks sites
such as Brazen Careerist and TrackAhead. He directs the Innovation
Committee for Career Directors International.

For more information on Tony, please visit: http://www.workbabble.com

The summertime almost always presents an opportunity for people to invest.  It is a quiet period because most individuals are focused on spending money and having fun.  Businesses tend to slow down and they offer significant incentives to attract new clientele.  Most companies are focused on maintaining relevance, marketing and promotions.  It’s a great opportunity for networking and seeking out new relationships.  Investment of time and money can produce great rewards if strategically planned.

As a singer, songwriter or other creative artist, the summertime is the best time to work on your visibility and ability to earn significant money promoting your ministry and/or product.  While everyone else is vacationing, you should be working diligently making connections, attending events and yes, even selling your product out of the trunk of your car.  Going into non-traditional places for exposure will give you a chance to book your calendar for the remainder of the year.

Let’s explore this using the example of an author.  You’ve recently released a new book and you are committed to selling 150 copies each for the month of August.  Now in the literary world, that is a lofty goal for a new author.  How does one accomplish this task?  Perhaps you would consider booking a hair salon/barber shop tour.  Establishing relationships with other business owners will give you a chance to market to their clientele.  A simple flyer with multiple dates and appearances will prove to be quite successful if your presentation is correct.  The salons are full and women are looking for things to read while waiting.

If you are a singer, be willing to sing for a significant discount or even free at outdoor concerts and events.  If the crowd is large enough, several things will happen.  One, you can sell CDs right on site immediately after you perform and/or minister.  Secondly, a new audience will become exposed to your ministry so you can network in hopes of getting book at events in the future.  The final benefit is that you can promote, promote, promote!

There is a saying that while the cat is away, the mouse will play.  Everyone desires to relax and enjoy life during the summer season.  I would encourage you to maintain disciple and move on purpose to achieve the goals you set for yourself.  You will find that several of the closed doors in the beginning of the year have been opened because other businesses are more readily available.  The only way you will find out if the door is open is to test it again.  Contact people you desire to establish relationships with again, even if you were rejected previously.

You will be pleasantly surprised.

The primary key is to keep pursuing your goals!  Work while everyone else is on vacation and you will find yourself ahead of the competition when the fall arrives.  Therefore, when others are getting back to work, you’ve already moved up the ladder of your personal success.

Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Live Interview With Nicole B. Simpson!

Nicole B. Simpson – A Certified Public Account – She was there! And she survived!

Do you have what it takes to look certain death in the face and fight back? Our newest guest blogger here at StopStressingNow.Com did just that. In what is quite possibly the most famous terrorist attack in history, this inspiring lady dug deep within and found the sheer will to survive.

Her story has touched me personally, so I asked her to share with us some of what she has learned since the day the world stood still. She was there inside tower two on the 44th floor when the second plane hit just above her at the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001.

By Guest Blogger: Shawn Anderson

“I’ll do it tomorrow.”

I’ve said it in my life. A lot.

“I’m tired…it can wait.”

Yeah…I’ve liked that one a few times, too.

“Oh…what’s one more day?”

That’s a good one, too, isn’t it?

Excuses.

They make us feel better for a moment, but get too used to using them and they can wage war on our goals and success. Excuses chain us to the world of mediocrity and eliminate our chance to experience uncommon results.

Forever.

Tell me, have you ever heard that little voice in your head sound like this?

“Why should I go after a big goal? I’m not going to achieve it anyway, so why start? It’s not that important. Besides, I’m really interested right now in watching Entertainment Tonight and seeing the evolution of Kate Hudson’s hairstyles over the last seven years.”

Embarrassing to admit, huh?

Why is it our inclination to take the easy road? Why is it so easy to submit to doing the less challenging or demanding task?

Here are THREE possible reasons:

1. Taking the easy road requires less thinking.
2. Taking the easy road demands less energy.
3. Taking the easy road requires less willpower.

Often, taking the HIGH road (the more productive, positive, and valuable road) isn’t as appealing as watching Entertainment Tonight. But that’s just our brain trying to convince us that the Kate Hudson interview has more value than doing something to positively move us forward. We let ourselves become convinced that it is okay to let our goals slide.

But is it really?

What do we truly gain by taking the easy way out at any moment? The answers are ugly, but let me tell you:

1. Take the easy road once… and we make it easier every time that follows to take that same path. Follow that route too many times and our lives end up being filled talking about others’ success rather than living our own success.

2. Take the easy road again…and we begin to get comfortable setting a low bar for ourselves in life. We stay in first grade forever.

3. Take the easy road too many times…and we begin to lose faith in our own ability to take on really big life goals. And that’s a discouraging shame.

So I ask us all this final question:

“Don’t we really…truly…unhesitatingly…deserve the very best?”

Funny thing is, when I ask myself that question, I see everything more clearly. And that’s good; that’s self-awareness; that’s bringing my thinking into the moment…the “NOW.”

And when that happens…I do make better decisions about what to do with my NOW; I do understand that the NOW affects the TOMORROW. And when I get to this point in my awareness, it makes moving past current tiredness or distractions much, much easier.

You can read all of Shawn’s Blog Posts by Clicking Here!

Click Here To Listen To The Live Broadcast <—– Amazing Interview With Shawn!

For more info about Shawn, visit www.ShawnAnderson.com.
For more info about his Extra Mile America Tour, visit: wwwExtraMileAmerica.com

By Guest Blogger: Libby Gill

You know what it’s like when you’re down to the wire on a project and suddenly that jolt of adrenalin kicks in and gets you to the finish line?  That’s stress.  In small doses, stress can give you a welcome energy boost and the increased focus you need to get the job done.  But when you’re dealing with massive doses of stress – especially unrelenting stress with no recovery periods – it can take a physical, mental and emotional toll.

When your brain perceives danger – real or imagined – your natural survival instincts spring to your defense and you go into “fight or flight” mode. Your heart rate speeds up, your muscles tighten, your focus sharpens and your blood starts pumping faster.  Stress can protect you by increasing your reaction time so that you’re able to slam on the brakes and avoid hitting a car that suddenly pulls out in front of you.  Stress also keeps you sharp when you’re giving a presentation or studying for final exams.

The problem is that the amount of stress in your life can elevate without your even realizing it.  I call this stress creep. It’s not hard for our stress to creep up on us in our ultra-driven society where we seem to pride ourselves on being crazy, busy, slammed on a 24/7 basis.  And it’s literally 24/7 since our cyber-gadgets and social networking systems have added a right-now urgency and around-the-clock accessibility to our lives like never before.

So how do you know if your stress is under control or off the charts?  Get a quick snapshot by answering the questions below with the following scores:  4 always, 3 often, 2 sometimes, and 1 never.

TEST YOUR STRESS CREEP

1. Are you drowning in deadlines?
2. Has your stress increased over the past year?
3. Are you juggling multiple responsibilities?
4. Have you lost or gained more than 10 pounds in the past year?
5. Is achievement important to you?
6. Is it hard for you to relax, nap or enjoy down time?
7. Do your ever feel guilty that your prioritize work over family or friends?
8. Are you impatient or irritable?
9. Do you skip vacation time even when you desperately need it?

10.  Do you loved ones ever beg you to slow down?

Now, add your scores and see how your stress levels stack up.

10 – 20 TOO LAID BACK

While it’s good to be laid back in moderation, you’ve got so little stress in your life you’re probably not achieving much.  You may also lack excitement or stimulation.  Could it be that you’ve traded stress for stuck?

21 – 30 UNDER CONTROL

You’ve got a good handle on managing your stress, juggling your responsibilities and living a well-balanced life.  Continue to keep your stress under control while you start getting more aggressive about getting unstuck.  You can handle it!

31 – 40 OVER THE TOP

You are waaaaay too stressed.  Get it under control or you may be heading for some serious repercussions.  Start some de-stressing tactics immediately and consider scheduling a full physical.  How are you going to get unstuck when you’re recovering from a stroke or heart attack?

If you landed in the “too laid back” category, maybe you’ve already written yourself off as an unmotivated, low-energy loser.  Or, perhaps, you’re at the “over the top” end of the spectrum, but think your headaches, nausea and sleeplessness are just part of being a high-achiever.  Wake up and smell the cortisol!  We’re fooling ourselves to think that feeling bad is causing our stress when, in fact, it’s the other way around.  It’s often our stress that’s making us feel bad.  Lots of us, apparently, because numerous studies have indicated that between 60-90% of doctor’s visits are stress-related.

Stress robs you of the energy, focus and enthusiasm you need to get unstuck and on track to success.  But stress doesn’t just keep you stuck, stress kills.  It can elevate your blood pressure, raise your risk of heart disease and stroke, and suppress your immune system.  It can also sap the joy that is truly your birthright.

Luckily, there are some inherent conditions that enhance people’s ability to handle stress.  See if you are fortunate enough to possess any of the following factors:

• A solid network of supportive friends and family
• Openness to change and an ability to roll with the punches
• An optimistic outlook about life
• A sense of humor and cheerful attitude
• A belief in a higher power or life purpose
• Self-control and confidence in your ability to cope

If the characteristics above describe you, keep reinforcing your stress-busting lifestyle.  You’ll need it as you work to get unstuck, pushing forward into new areas of life change which, inevitably, will bring new stresses. If you don’t possess the traits listed above, it’s time to read You Unstuck and some great techniques for countering stress creep for good.

Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Interview With Libby Gill <———— Click!

Libby Gill is an executive coach, brand strategist and bestselling author.  You can learn more at www.LibbyGill.com and www.MyAccountabilityClub.com.

“I Fired My Dad” – Managing Multi-Generational Employees as a Gen Y Boss

By Guest Blogger: Tony Deblauwe

Are you in your 20s to early 30s and filling a managerial role at your job? Congratulations! Your work ethic, educational accomplishments, and job skills are paying off already. As a Gen Y boss, you’ve got a bright future ahead if you can learn how leverage the talents of those who report to you. This can be a particularly challenging task when your employees are older – in some cases – old enough to be your parents. It’s even more challenging when you encounter performance problems that can result in disciplinary actions that can, in some cases, lead to termination.

Many Gen Y managers are adapting, often rapidly, with how best to manage the needs and motivations of a multi-generational team. Supervising an older workforce as a young adult highlights the generation differences that impact work relationships. This can create a host of awkward and stressful communication challenges to Gen Y managers.

Generation Profiles: Comparing Work Styles

In order to understand how to approach performance issues between a younger manager and an older employee, you have to recognize that discrepancies abound between Gen Y and other generations in terms of work ethic. The chart below highlights some typical attitudinal differences about work between generations that make up the bulk of current workforce populations.

Immediately you can see where conflict can arise in perceptions of performance measurement. A Gen Y manager might expect a Boomer employee to be connected all the time, produce information electronically, and value the needs of the team over the needs of the individual. The Boomer employee may view the Gen Y manager as naïve, unrealistic, lacking focus, and ill-equipped to deal with “how things really work.” Both parties demand respect in terms of what they bring to their jobs, but the Gen Y manager, eager to please and make sure everyone gets along, can feel helpless and eclipsed by the Boomer who takes issue with where the power lies in the relationship (i.e. with my time in the workforce, I should be manager not this green no-knowing).  While these two generations offer the most probable cause for conflict, with Gen X, issues over how to work, and what they get included in regarding bigger strategic decisions, can create problems for the Gen Y manager as well.

So, while many of the Gen Y character traits are highly beneficial in today’s fast paced workplace, many of these traits create a world view and reality that can negatively affect how a Gen Y manager relates to older employees.

Performance Management Tips for Gen Y

For a Gen Y manager, giving feedback to Baby Boomer or Gen X employees can be uncomfortable – and you aren’t mistaken in assuming that it’s hard for many older workers to hear it from you. Acknowledging this fact is the first step in handling the emotional ramifications of being a younger boss.

Here are some tips for approaching performance management for older employees firmly but with compassion and respect:

1. Remember that the boss/employee relationship is not a contest where you need to prove that you are smarter or “better” than your direct reports. Instead, be honest about the fact that you are still developing as a manager and need the cooperation of senior employees to become an effective leader.
2. Don’t let your need for approval or deference to older people keeps you from pursuing disciplinary action in accordance with company policy. Rely on HR to support you in resolving conflicts until you feel comfortable going it alone.
3. Watch your tone when recognizing the contributions of older workers so you don’t sound condescending. Frame praise as respectful acknowledgement of the work of an accomplished peer.
4. When you need an older worker to make changes, introduce these one at a time. Don’t let impatience and perfectionism make you overly critical of slow adoption of new processes or systems.
5. Listen as much as you talk so you can understand the viewpoints and opinions of older employees rather than making assumptions. You’ll be surprised how much you learn!

As with any management role you have to be ready for difficult conversations around performance expectations. Engaging early, providing feedback and paying attention to different styles goes a long way in creating trust and a balanced relationship with your employees. If you do have to terminate an older worker, and you feel confident you have exhausted all attempts at setting expectations and talking through the issues, don’t dwell on the decision. For Gen Y this can be a sign of failure – of breaching harmony – but in fact, it’s a sign of personal and professional growth in handling adversity and gaining valuable career skills in the process.

Listen To An Amazing Live Interview With Tony About Workplace Stress – Click Here!

Mr. Tony Deblauwe

Tony Deblauwe is a Workplace Expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
He is an award-winning and regular contributor to career social networks sites
such as Brazen Careerist and TrackAhead. He directs the Innovation
Committee for Career Directors International.

For more information on Tony, please visit: http://www.workbabble.com

Diana Lewis Jewell

The Former Marketing Director of Vogue Magazine and Promotion Director of Seventeen, In early 2008, she founded www.goinggraylookinggreat.com, dedicated to women even thinking about going natural. Here, she dispenses advice daily, helping women go through the dreaded transitioning process, select the right makeup and wardrobe for their newly silvered locks, consider coloring procedures or haircare products that might boost or enhance their gray, and, indeed decide if going gray is right for them.

The website has fostered a strong, supportive community, is logged into in 80 countries around the world, and has an active Membership chatting daily on its pages.
She points out that “going natural” is a megatrend not envisioned at the time she wrote the book. “We’re now seeing two generations embracing authenticity, both boomers and Gen-Xers,” she says, “and it has to do with so many factors beyond a simple decision to stop coloring.”

Watch Diana Lewis Jewell’s recent appearance on the TODAY Show!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

• Author of 7 non-fiction books, including the longest-selling beauty book of all time, Making Up by Rex.
• Former Marketing Director of Vogue Magazine and Promotion Director of Seventeen
• Freelance writer for a host of top-tier fashion, cosmetic, skincare, fragrance, media, marketing and pr companies
• Contributing editor to three websites
For More Information Please Visit:  www.goinggraylookinggreat.com

CLICK ON THE PLAYER BELOW TO LISTEN TO MY INTERVIEW WITH DIANA LEWIS JEWELL!

Melinda Bates

From her beautiful East Wing office she helped them make history every day
Everyone loves the White House, including the hordes of movie, television, music and opera stars, the famous athletes, the celebrities du jour, the heads of state and government, and the political power players who visited every day.  White House Story is filled with amusing stories about her encounters – the ones that went well, and the ones that, well, not so much…

From brilliant Easter Egg Rolls (look – it’s Robert de Niro!) to tours for the Grateful Dead and the former Queen of Greece (on the same day), Melinda’s days were filled with excitement, fun, and an unbelievably high level of stress.  Her book is painfully honest – the good times, the very good times, and the broken-hearted times too.  The White House is the world’s most famous house, but it’s still a mystery to most people.  Melinda loves to throw open those doors and invite people in, with her book, speeches and interviews.  These are stories you won’t hear anywhere else!

There was no more “inside” insider than Melinda Bates, and in White House Story she takes the reader along on what President Clinton called, “a hell of a ride.”

For More Information Please Visit: WWW.WHITEHOUSEBOOK.COM

Warren Bobrow

Today, he lives his life with passion!

Wild Table has bits of visual poetry, terroir and food commentaries. In addition to Wild River Review, Warren writes for NJMYWay.com, NJ Monthly, Edible Jersey, NJ Savvy Living, Chutzpah Magazine and  NJ Life Magazine.

Warren continues to traverse the print-scape and is now writing for the Morris Cty., NJ Daily Record for their restaurant and their features column. He just appeared at the Roger Smith Food Writing Conference in NYC and gave a 14.5 minute talk on Twitter, Food Writing and Zen.  Warren spoke at the #140 Conference in Philadelphia on the same topic.  Zen and the Art of Twitter, Foodwriting and knowing nothing.

Warren is a contributing author for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Ed., 2.
For More Information Please Visit: http://www.wildriverreview.com/wildtable

By Guest Blogger – Nicole B. Simpson

This challenging economic season has created an opportunity for everyone to think outside of the box and create a plan of action utilizes your natural talents and abilities.  Consideration to establish your own business is both personally fulfilling and a satisfactory financial vehicle as well.

It is imperative to identify your talent, write a vision and make it plain. Then, you must share your vision with others. This is what I want to discuss today. You’ve determined your true calling, you’ve envisioned yourself walking into your destiny and now how do you make that happen? Sharing your vision based on your talent with others will allow those individuals to assist you creatively with options of how to get started. After all, that is what deters people most often.

They don’t know where to begin.
I recall sharing the challenges I faced when I first became an author. I wasn’t certain if I accomplished my goals and objectives. Fear of rejection made me keep the thoughts of my perceived failure to myself. To share that intimate information and allow myself to be open to criticism was new for me. After all, a reason why we don’t succeed is because we talk ourselves out of our destiny being afraid of what others might think. Or perhaps we didn’t get the results we were seeking the first time we tried. Maybe, you shared your ideas with the wrong people and they told you that you were chasing a dream, it wasn’t possible, you can’t achieve… I could go on. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had more to accomplish. So I went back to the drawing board. I had already identified the gift and I wrote the vision. It never changed. This time around I shared the vision with other people.

You see, I was independently successful the first time around based on my own skills.

But when I shared my vision with other people, they began to add creative ideas and suggestions I never considered.
What am I saying to you? Moderate success isn’t enough. When we follow our dreams without help, without guidance, without support, we can suffer from burn out and we may limit our potential. But often, we place ourselves in that position. This time around I decided to share the gift God had given to me with others. The more I began to share, the more opportunities began to present themselves to me. People started to help me by sharing their resources and committing to support my vision. All I had to do was open my mouth and make myself vulnerable to criticism. But the feedback is progressive, not regressive. Certainly you must be prepared for the non-believers and the people who will not be supportive. But the next step in your journey will almost always be revealed by another person.
Trust your instinct! You are a business and every business must have a team to become successful.

I want to share one final example about how important this link is to your success overall. Several years ago I met a young lady who had recently started a new magazine. She had the desire to become a publisher since she was a little girl but it a life altering encounter that finally persuaded her move forward in pursuit of her dreams. When we met, she was at a transition in her life. She had taken the business as far as she could go individually and realized she needed assistance to move forward. If you spoke with her, she will share with you that she exhausted many options and needed a fresh perspective. She shared her vision with women with different levels of expertise.

Three months later, she had a team of people working with her as if the vision was birth by them independently.

If you trust your instincts, you will find yourself always traveling in the right direction.

Share the vision!

Click Here To Listen To An Amazing Live Interview With Nicole B. Simpson!

Nicole B. Simpson – A Certified Public Account – She was there! And she survived!

Do you have what it takes to look certain death in the face and fight back? Our newest guest blogger here at StopStressingNow.Com did just that. In what is quite possibly the most famous terrorist attack in history, this inspiring lady dug deep within and found the sheer will to survive.

Her story has touched me personally, so I asked her to share with us some of what she has learned since the day the world stood still. She was there inside tower two on the 44th floor when the second plane hit just above her at the World Trade Center on September 11th 2001.

By Guest Bloggers: The Baietto Brothers

Your body is the greatest vehicle that has ever been created! OH MY… the intricacies, the details, the overall quality, the precision of all the parts, the perfection of multiple systems all coordinating to work together with unexplainable synergy. This amazing vehicle allows us to walk, talk, eat, breathe, see, hear, etc… it’s literally unexplainable…

However, regular maintenance IS required…and therein lays the rub!

Now if we use a car as a metaphor we can easily understand this analogy. If you were to walk into Lamborghini dealer and decide to buy the top of the line vehicle from him he would spend a great deal of time explaining the care and upkeep that you would need to do to make sure that this amazing vehicle stayed working at it’s optimal level. In fact, he would make sure that you knew that if you didn’t take care of the vehicle in the manner that was best for it, your warranty would be null and void.

This makes sense right?

I mean it is a $400,000 Lamborghini.

Now, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t use the best materials they could. It’s just the nature of taking care of a super high-end vehicle that you get the privilege to drive around. No matter how careful you are, you are going to drive on some uneven roads, you’re going to hit some potholes, you will probably get caught in the bad weather from time to time, and you may even get bumped by someone else. Needless to say, there are so many outside factors that can affect the cars performance that the only way to keep it running at the optimal level it was designed to, is to get regular maintenance.

And any good mechanic will tell you it is much easier and definitely much cheaper to take care of the little things along the way and than to wait until something major happens before taking it in.

The same is true with our bodies!

At our health center, people come in all the time and share stories of how their back, knee, hip, etc went out and all they were doing was carrying a bag of groceries, or walking up a flight of stairs or lifting up their little child. And what they don’t seem to understand is that it wasn’t that isolated incident but years of hitting small potholes, getting bumped, or just normal wear and tear that wasn’t being taken care of and whatever they were doing when they got hurt was simply the proverbial “straw that broke the camels back.”

Stress is often like that. How many times have you gotten really angry over something and when you looked back at it you had to admit that the incident in question certainly didn’t seem like it deserved to become such a big deal? Most of the time, it was simply the last of a series of many things that were weighing on you and that just happened to be the thing that pushed you over the edge.

It may sound obvious but somehow very few of us connect the dots and take the time to release our stress every day so that the little things don’t build up. And most of our stress is simply an accumulation, day after day, of thousands of little things. Things that by themselves weren’t a big deal at all, but all together… well, if you’re human, I’m sure you’ve been there. J By taking just a few minutes a day to release your stress you can let go of the little things. And not only that but when the truly big things does come your way, you have the tools and the practice to support yourself through them.

Just like a car needs a bigger scheduled maintenance every so often, we are going to encounter big challenges in our life from time to time. The goal is not to avoid the challenges, that would be impossible, but rather to keep ourselves in the best shape possible to handle them.

Try this right now… feel around inside your body and see where you are holding your stress. It maybe your shoulders, your neck, your lower back… where is it for you? Now, simply close your eyes take a slow deep breath and breathe into the area that you are focusing on… feel the fresh, pure, oxygen relaxing that part of your body. Do this for 5 full breaths. Can you feel the difference? Often we don’t even realize how tight we are in a certain area. And with each breath, you may experience a sensation of letting go and feeling looser inside. You may even start to feel a slight tingle as that area continues to relax. This is a simple but very powerful technique that you can do whenever and wherever you want. Try doing it tonight when you get into bed. Trust us, it is way better than counting sheep.

At www.completebalance.com we start with 3 simple but very powerful stress release techniques that you can do in just a couple minutes a day. By forming a daily habit of releasing stress each evening you will not only sleep better than ever but you will start every morning with a full tank of gas and all systems ready to go. J

VRRROOMMM, VRRRROOOM
The Baietto Brothers

Listen To An Amazing Live Interview With The Baietto Brothers By Clicking Here!