Because it’s the little things that make life everything…
Little Things Blog Hop
Thanks, Elle Jacklee.
Hello! Welcome to the Little Things Blog Hop – I’m stop 79 of 117 (at last count). If you visit each one, you will find out about a lot of little things that make life worthwhile and have the opportunity to enter a lot of competitions including the huge rafflecopter giveaway with a US$50 Amazon gift card grand prize.
For those of you don’t know me, my name is Alexandria Blaelock and I am a writer and philosopher who encourages people to embrace things that matter like beauty, friendship and wisdom. I have written two personal development/lifestyle books describing how rational thought about activities like getting dressed and feeding your friends can lead to the kind of pleasure that makes life worthwhile.
And that is kind of the point of this post. It’s so easy to get caught up in your treadmill, just cycling round and round and never taking a break. The treadmill was originally a prison punishment in which prisoners would take long monotonous shifts “climbing” a paddle wheel, but today your treadmill is more likely to be mental. You have thousands of stray thoughts and activities you are trying to stay on top of, even though most of them don’t contribute to your wellbeing.
You may not be consciously aware of it, but the pressure (or stress) of all those things is building up inside you. Take a time-out now to notice how you feel. Is your heart thumping in your chest? Are breathing very fast? Perhaps you are tired and grumpy or can’t remember what it is you were going to do next. Or maybe you have just noticed that you have chewed your fingernails down to the quick.
While some stress is good for you (it gives you a bit of get up and go), prolonged excessive stress can be harmful. It is the kind of thing that continues to build pressure inside you if you don’t take action to dissipate it. You can use a variety of long-term methods such as physical exercise, meditation and yoga to keep it under control, but there are going to be times (e.g. public speaking) when you need a quick shot of anti-stress. Or a time-out.
Just as we all stress differently, we have different solutions when it comes to letting go of stress. My friend Katy takes five minutes to plan out step-by-step what she needs to do about a problem that is bothering her. Toseland on the other hand, will go into the stairwell at work and literally run up three or four flights. I like to close my eyes and imagine myself somewhere warm and sunny, and then I take a deep breath and hold it for the space of ten heartbeats before letting it rush out again. And maybe do it again if I need to.
What do you do? Share your favourite five-minute time-out in the comments below for a chance to win a signed copy of my book Build Your Signature Wardrobe.
Next stop on the blog hop is Iris Blobel, who writes romances set in Australia.
Thanks for “hopping” by!
UPDATE 20/4: The Little Things Blog Hop is over; the competitions have closed, winners been notified, and associated websites shut down (so I have removed the links).
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