This is part of our series on Leo Babauta’s Simple Living Manifesto. We invite you to join us on the journey.

The 42nd idea in the manifesto is:

Learn to decompress from stress. Every life is filled with stress — no matter how much you simplify your life, you’ll still have stress (except in the case of the ultimate simplifier, death). So after you go through stress, find ways to decompress. Here are some ideas.

Dusk You & Me | Photo by Vox Efx

Having just gone through a nine month process of selling a home, having an offer put on our home, putting an offer on our new home, having the offer on our home simply disappear, and then waiting for a new offer, accepting an offer far below our asking price, making it to closing on both homes and then moving… I can safely say I’ve had some days with built up stress.

I definitely believe we each have our own unique ways to deal with stress but some can definitely be more harmful than others.

So be sure you’re dealing with your stress and not letting it get to a dangerous level where you blow-up unexpectedly on others.

Here’s what works for me ::

• Talk about it. — For some reason we’re always so afraid to tell others what’s going on in our lives. We’ve come to fear judgement from others at the first sign of weakness. But when you can talk things out — it often helps you realize those things you’re so stressed about — aren’t that big of a deal in the end. Find some close friends or loved ones that you can build spaces of grace with now. Be there and listen to their hurts and needs and be willing to let your guard down and share with them as well.
• Walking it out. — Sometimes a five minute walk around the block can really help you keep your cool. Other times a trip up and down a flight of stairs may help. Get active so your mind doesn’t have time to stew over the problem. Walking also helps me take the time to slow down and consider alternatives or other views to a situation.
• Get some rest. — Less rest = more stress. When you’re tired, everything seems like a bigger deal than it really is. Take a nap, or go to bed as early as possible. You’ll most often wake up with a new perspective on things.
• Read. — Find something to read that will distract you from your current situation. Whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, inspirational, spiritual, or just a bunch of humorous blogs. Many times I’ve found that reading not only distracts me from the stress, but it often gives me inspiration on how to solve my problem in one way or another.
• Help others. — Nothing helps me get out of a funk more than helping others — especially when I start getting down on my situation. You can always find someone in a worse situation than yourself. But even if you don’t — there’s so much joy in being a blessing to others. So get out there and do it!
• Enjoy your a serving of your favorite drink. — Sometimes you just need a tall glass of cold, ice tea, or Dr Pepper, or maybe a hot cup of coffee, or even scotch on the rocks. Take the time to sit and enjoy your favorite beverage. It might give you enough of a break to come back with fresh eyes and energy. (note that I said a serving — not a binge drinking)

So what about you? How do you decompress from stress?

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Write a blog post about the point above and then share the link in the comments below…

keep reading...

• Simple Manifesto #57 – Go for quality, not quantity
• Simple Manifesto #45 – Find a creative outlet
• Simple Manifesto #44 – Try living without a car