14 SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE STRESS IN THE NEW YEAR

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While the calendar is well into the new year, the following applies regardless of the time of the year.  My article originally appeared in the "Huffington Post" on January 12, 2012.

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It's easy to get caught in the day-to-day stresses of life. Trying to juggle too much and accomplish everything that we expect of ourselves, or even what others expect of us, can lead to anxiety, stress and general malaise. 

Sometimes just making small changes in the way we approach doing our responsibilities can result in reducing stress, resulting in a greater sense of accomplishment. Does that sink full of dishes really need to be done, or should you spend sometime with a loved one? Will the earth stop rotating if you don't do the housework, or better yet how about encouraging your children or your mate to help out and do it instead? Do you really need to do all those things on your list? What happens if you try saying "no"? 

It isn't selfish to think of yourself, especially when your well-being is at stake. Here are some tips for taking care of yourself, taking some time for yourself and being human by recognizing that you're not perfect all the time at everything you try to do. 

1. Don't bite off more than you can chew. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't place importance where it's needed. Know your options. If you have to compromise, do so and don't feel badly for doing so. Go for it.
2. Don't beat up on yourself. Failure doesn't mean it's over. Think of it as a new opportunity and beginning to try again and improve.
3. Don't be your own worst enemy. Appreciate who you are, what you've become and where your journey has taken you. 
4. Appreciate what you have, even if it's not what you've always wanted. You're still more fortunate than most.
5. Celebrate the small things. Appreciate simplicity and its gifts... These are blessings.
6. Never feel alone. Sometimes the best company one keeps is oneself. Focus on the positive, versus the negative.
7. Before others can believe in you, it's important for you to believe in yourself. Ultimately, believing in self is what matters the most.
8. The greatest success stories didn't start out that way. Success requires failure, learning from it, rising above it with newfound knowledge and resolving to continue moving forward.
9. Don't be a martyr and suffer in silence. If you need help with something, no matter how trivial or inconsequential you may think it to be, don't hesitate to ask for help. This includes intervention from religious or spiritual, medical or psychological, family, friend or neighbor...
10. Be spiritually-minded and believe in a higher calling and purpose. Having faith makes all things possible.
11. Spend some time doing charitable things; start a food drive in your neighborhood and deliver the goods to a local food pantry, for example. Being humble, including doing charity, hones our humanness. Even if you're down and out with luck, someone else is at a lower level than you.
12. Take a contemplative walk and try to notice every aspect of your actions and surroundings. Become one with nature.
13. Seek the simple and less complicated.
14. Never forget to laugh. Enjoy being alive.

It's easy getting caught up in the moments of responsibility and forgetting ourselves in those moments. While these tips may not fully be life changing immediately, in the long-term, they can be helpful. So, take some deep breaths, slowly exhale and celebrate who you are, what you've become and what you hope to be.

That’s it for this edition.  Until the next one, remember to take care of yourself and those you love.

By Terry Herman

TERRY HERMAN is a recognized expert in the industry, and regularly covers issues that include business, management, operations, customer care, treatments, products, and trends. In the 1990s, she authored an extensive "Glossary of Spa Terminologies" and holds two copyright registrations.  Consumer and trade publications have also interviewed her as an expert.  She also conducted an extensive nationally broadcasted interview tour on aspects of creating an at-home spa, interior design, music, stress and time management.  Her work has been published extensively in print and digital in both consumer and trade publications.  In addition to writing, reviewing and being interviewed as an expert, she is also a management consultant and motivational speaker.  She also served on the International Advisory Board for the former EXPERIENCE | PREMCHIT Journeys In Retreat To Wellness; the Advisory Board was comprised of ten international experts in various fields of wellness and spa.  She also served as a Group Manager for the popular LinkedIn group, The Spa Buzz.  Her social media outreach includes Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Tripatini.  Be sure to read her food, wine and culinary digital magazine, TERRY’S SECOND HELPINGS.  Don’t forget to “Like” her Facebook Page, “Terry’s Second Helpings”.  You can email her at terrysspabeautywellness@gmail.com, or terry.herman@gmail.com.

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