If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Pause and you get eaten. Introspection is for hippies. Ruthlessly forward is the only perspective, the only direction, the only proper attitude.
I pledge to de-stress my life, even if it's a handful of minor things that clutter my mind and leave me feeling weighed down.
We do not all want seven-figure salaries with bonuses if it means our life becomes a 60+ hour work week, insane amounts of stress, no pleasure and the idea that we have to know the football scores if we are going to sit in a room full of men.
Was I not being mindful about what he said earlier instead of thinking about what I was doing at that moment? Yes, I decided. But he also said that as soon as you become aware that your mind has wandered - you're back in the moment. Ah, so I was OK -- for the moment.
Life is really just a whole bunch of "right now" moments strung together. If this moment is not what we want, and we constantly find ourselves waiting for a better future -- minutes or years from now -- then we're really just accepting our own unhappiness all the time.
I've survived 30 months of deployment, jumping out of airplanes, field time in Germany in the winter. Anxiety is something that happens to other people, to weaker people, not me.
When you're stressed, the world can feel like an obstacle course dotted with triggers. They come from everywhere -- work, relationships, money, school...
What if our definition of success included not only achievement, but also happiness, well-being and our contribution to society?
Having produced daytime TV for 17 years, I know from experience that people come on talk shows because they're in conflict with the way things are and are searching for answers. Those same reasons led me to mindfulness meditation.
Life isn't about obtaining great riches or notoriety. It's about the connections you make with other people, your fellow human beings. And I've got someone I just know is going to make quite an impression on you. Allow me introduce my neighbor, Fred McInconsideraton.
Your emotions are the product of the stories you are telling yourself about what the event or person or project really mean. And those stories are uniquely yours, and you are able to change them. What stories are you telling yourself, and do they move you forward, or create stress and anxiety?
Sometimes in life we become someone we never imagined possible or that we never knew we were, even though we have always been that person from the very day we were created.
Most people will tell you that sobbing in your boss's office is not a great career move, but really, it depends on what your next career move is.
I knew I was stressed out when he told me "I hope you get murdered" after I moved out of our old place to start my life over again.
Without minimizing the horrific trauma of veterans of war, I believe that trauma in subtler forms can still devastate the human psyche.
Being an introvert doesn't mean I can't effectively interact with others; it does require that I respect my need to counter times of intense interaction with periods of calm and relaxation.
