ARE YOU LOSING CONTROL-HOW TO GET IT BACK

Life is busy and stressful and demanding.
Do you find yourself in traffic raging to yourself?
You stub your toe!
The debts are getting too much.
The duties of raising children.
So anger occurs.
When you are losing control, you become more controlling. A fact.
Take a deep breath, step back.
Ways to regain some control

#1- Acknowledge you are losing control. Acknowledge there are many things in life that are not controllable. The weather. A traffic jam. Monday mornings. Line ups shopping.

# 2 Divorce, death of a love one, sudden illness or surgery, a layoff, a new baby, children gone away to university. These events take away your control. So jump right in and know you will have little control through these events. You will have poor sleep. A heightened appetite. A loss of appetite. Unwanted changes in your life.

#3 Look for some silver lining in a dark cloud. Look for the helpers. Look for the positive people. Look for the good. Be the good in someone's life.

#4 Avoid toxic people. Avoid toxic situations. If you can not get away from them then reduce the amount of time with those people and situations. Example, at work eat lunch alone or go out if possible. Go for a walk to avoid pissy conversations.

#5 Less is more. Take something off your life plate. Reduce your high expectations of yourself. Do the children need 10 activities? How about 5? Do you need to cook 3 course meals? How about take out, those home delivered meal plans, eat out occasionally!!

#6 You can control what you eat. How much you drink!! You can control what you wear. I was always noticed for matching my clothes and shoes.Why? It was something I had control over. Simple.

#7 Do simple controllable tasks. Like the colour of nail polish. Washing your car. Clean that closet. Join that simple exercise group.

#8 Remember to breath. Some people use meditation. Some pray.

Get started slowly and methodically with doable easy activities.
In life there will always be something that is beyond our control.
So what strategies do you use? What helps you cope and have some control in your life??
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WEATHER TEACHES US ABOUT LACK OF CONTROL IN OUR LIVES

After the snow melts, comes the rain and all the weather that accompany it. Our region is still cleaning up from the Ice Storm of December 2013. Many woodlots with the snow melted reveal the enormity of the damage. As we listen to bad reports from the Southern United States, there is a reminder that thunderstorms and even tornadoes are on the horizon. As technological savvy as we are, weather or is it really Mother Nature that can influence our lives. It brings me to the point of being in control. How much control do we really have over our lives? Yes we can pay the bills, eat well, exercise and put activities in our lives that have meaning but there are so many things beyond our control. We could go a little crazy if we thought about all of them. Take our health-our body parts could be ticking time bombs! We can't control the weather or many other things in our lives. So what is control? Is it learning to live with what we have and being optimistic about the future? Is it accepting that we have some faith? Living and doing are control. Foraging ahead is control. Trying to eliminate some challenges. If you check the oil in your car, the oil light will not come on. It does not mean your car may never have a difficulty but trying to get good maintenance for it will surely help. Paying attention to your body's rhythms will help with your health. Old age can not be overcome but approaching it with exercise, regular checkups, and well balanced eating does help. Besides it is better to be over the hill then under it! Slowing down and doing activities safely. Do you really need to clean your own leaves from the eves troughs with an extension ladder? Would it be time to hire someone or at least do it with a partner spotting you? We can try to be prepared for life's emergencies like having batteries, water supply and insurance. We can not fend off all that life presents but can find ways to cope. Anticipating changes and embracing them with the tasks and activities that are manageable and well  in your control.  Books have been written with the theme- taking control of your life! Control-what does it mean to you?

BUSY HANDS PREVENT IDLE MINDS

Being busy can be very therapeutic when going through a hard time. Maintaining order by accomplishing small tasks, keeps us grounded. The simple task of folding laundry or cleaning a counter or watering the plants allows us to move forward in our distress. Sitting and idly doing nothing may be needed sometimes, but doing something gives the sense of keeping order and control in our lives. Are you distressed now? Do you need to find some order and control in your life? Busy hands helps us to expend some energy- like the boiling kettle, we all need to release some steam!

TAKING CONTROL

When life seems overwhelming, stop and find the small opportunities to take back control. Cleaning a cupboard, paying a bill, phoning a friend, finishing a project are small ways to ground ourselves and find some control. What do you do to help in your chaotic life?