About the author: 

 Joyce West has many years of experience working in the arenas of Stress and Pain Management with individuals, groups and corporations. 

She now prefers to focus on a healthier, more positive approach  through her Centered Approach model. 

Joyce enjoys sharing quick and easy methods of “stacking the deck” for living a centered life in her workshops for groups and corporations.
 

Contact Joyce at www.MasteryPointe.com

Good Bye Stress Management,
Hello Centered Choices

Creating a personalized plan for creating balance— and re-balance—
in your very own life.

What’s wrong with one size fits all?  In some cases absolutely nothing.  In others, “one size fits all” actually doesn’t fit very many very well.

Magazines, newspapers, books, and gurus have touted for years that stress can be managed, and have offered good—for some—methods of doing so.  Yet each of us is different.  We enjoy different activities, have different body types, different goals, different life situations.  Cookie cutters make nice cookies, but not necessarily good plans for a wonderfully unique YOU.

And while I’m at it, I think it’s about time to retire the term “stress management.”  It has come to imply that there’s a chronic, big, negative problem to be fixed on personal, institutional, even national levels.  Instead of thinking in terms of battling an enemy of ever compounding personal and societal stress, how would you feel about focusing your attention instead on making personal choices that result in feeling more centered, more at peace, more in balance more of the time?  It just seems like a more constructive way to flow from ok, to better, maybe even to best.

The good news is that you really are the best person to create your own unique, tailor made plan for increasing your centeredness and being in optimal balance.  Who else knows you better, and who else knows what centeredness feels like to you?

 Soooo, if you’d like to play along, get out five sheets of paper and something to write with.  Now, just what does centeredness and balance feel like to you?  Think about a time when you have felt the most in balance with yourself. ( If you can’t think of one, then imagine that you have felt that, or borrow someone else’s experience.)  Bring that experience into the present, as though it is happening right now.  How do you feel emotionally?  Put descriptive words to your feelings.  What sort of thoughts are you thinking?  What about the speed and clarity of your thoughts?  What is your body doing, and how does it feel?  Finally, what about your spirit?  Do you feel spiritually connected?  Take some time to truly explore those feelings and sensations because it gives you some clues about what centered and balanced feels like to you. 

Now, label a sheet of paper “PHYSICAL”, and write out how you feel physically when  you are in balance.  Follow by doing the same things on separate sheets of paper for “MENTAL”, “EMOTIONAL”, AND “SPIRITUAL”.

 Next, list on your PHYSICAL sheet the things that you already know help your body to feel in balance.  Include the areas of diet, exercise and relaxation.  Include things you like to smell, touch, and look at in this list.

 Move on to your “MENTAL” sheet.  Your mental attitude is the choreographer of your body, your emotions, and your spiritual connectedness.  Your mind determines how you view your life.  Are you a victim, an aggressor, or a peacekeeper?  Each of these three designations has a whole set of behaviors and feelings attached to them.  “Peace of mind” is more than a lofty ideal.  What internal and external resources do you know engender peaceful thinking in you?  List books, phrases, songs, people, practices, and beliefs that bring your thinking back to balance point.

EMOTIONS can be really tricky, yet there is a simple litmus test.  What brings you joy?  And when you’re not involved in a joyful activity, what can shift in you to be in a state of joy anyway?  Also who—and what—encourages laughter for you? Make a list.

 Anger, left untapped, can block joy.  What works for you when you are angry that also doesn’t inappropriately dump onto someone else?  At the heart of anger, one can often find fear masquerading as anger.  How do you best handle fear?  What helps you move out of fear?  Add to your list.

 Finally, forgiveness is a powerful tool.  Who are you ready to forgive, because remaining in an unforgiving state can be harmful to you.  Likewise, what in you are you ready to forgive?  You know the drill.  Add this to your list.

Finally, move to the SPIRITUAL sheet.  What do you already know about yourself from a spiritual perspective?  When and how does your spirit shine and soar?  When are you the most spiritually connected?  How can you take these experiences and weave them into your ongoing life?  What spiritual truths do you live by that apply to any situation?  How can you more fully live those truths?  Create a list from answering these questions.

 So, is it safe to say you know a lot about yourself?  The tough part is remembering to implement what you already know.  Decide how you will use this information in a constructive way.  Clearly, it is unrealistic to expect to implement all at once every fact and technique that you have listed.  Make the following decisions, recording them on your fifth page.

1. What are priorities in your lists and how can you begin incorporating them?

2. What is a realistic timeline for bringing a few other items from your lists onboard

3. Where can you store your four backup lists so that you can refer back to them?  This is an ongoing process and your original lists will be valuable resources for you.

4. How can you reward yourself for following through with this plan?

In many instances, you already know what works for you to be more nurturing, disciplined, and centered.  Having a plan and a focus moves you from possibility to reality.

About the author: 
 Joyce West has many years of experience working in the arenas of Stress and Pain Management with individuals, groups and corporations.  She now prefers to focus on a healthier, more positive approach  through her Centered Approach model.  Joyce enjoys sharing quick and easy methods of “stacking the deck” for living a centered life in her workshops for groups and corporations.
Contact Joyce at www.MasteryPointe.com

Joyce West Ó 2008 All Rights Reserved.   This document is the exclusive property of Joyce West.   It may not be copied, reproduced or distributed in any manner for any purpose without written permission from the author.