Stress management is about lightening an unwanted heavy load. When you carry a lot of stress around with you all day you might talk of having a ‘load on your mind.’
Imagine if your worries were rocks which you carried in a rucksack on your back and every time you met put another rock in it.
What would you look like? More and more bent over with the increasing weight on your back. How would you feel? More and more fed up with the people who kept adding the rocks.
What might people be saying about you? Want to get rid of your rock? Put it in my rucksack. I can carry them for you.’
Perhaps this metaphor might enable you to notice what the ‘rocks’ in your life are and who keeps putting them in your rucksack. If the ‘rocks’ are the things which people ask you to do during the day and the increasing load on your back is your increasing overwhelm, then take a moment and reflect how you could change the situation. How could you change the situation so the rucksack gets lighter rather than heavier? What can you do to stop more rocks being put in your rucksack?
Well, suppose you are busy doing something and you are asked to come and do something else. Maybe now you say ‘OK I’ll do that when I’ve finished here.’ That might become another rock.
How about saying ‘I’m not able to deal with that now as I’m busy for the next half an hour. Please come back and ask me again then’ Result: the rock stays with the requester and you don’t have to do anything until you are asked again.
When asked again and if you are no longer involved in something else say yes, do what’s required, and there will be no more rocks in your rucksack!
Contact me if you would like to find out how coaching can help to get rid of unwanted stress in your life.
