Don’t Lose Your Marbles – Stress & Fitness

I KNOW for a fact most of you have popped off in your car using every curse word imaginable, throwing fingers and flailing at the “terrible ridiculous driver” on the road next to you. It is embarrassing when you really think about it. Byron reminds me that I would NEVER say or do these things if I wasn’t protected by this metal frame on wheels…TOTALLY TRUE…which make it even more embarrassing. It seems to come from the depths of everything you could ever be angry about….way down deep.

I recently had 2 similar encounters—one that I lost my marbles on while the other I tried to be patient and understanding. It is challenging for me to be the calm driver soaking in the wrath of another’s anger. But holy macadoodle it is MUCH more rewarding to be on this side of the interaction especially when it is my true gut reaction to frantically lose my marbles.

You are probably wondering what this story has to do with health and fitness. Well, managing your stress levels can drastically improve your health. AND here’s my plan to help minimize these crazy reactions and lower the stress of these situations:

1. Workout…hard enough that you don’t have all this pent up negative energy waiting to erupt at every corner. I am not saying work yourself so hard you don’t have any energy left…but hard enough to shake off those negative vibes. I know I feel better after a good workout—happy mind, happy body.
2. Breathe…try to slow down a couple times during the day to focus on your breathing. I know when I do this I automatically feel better almost like a reset button. It might sound silly, but I try to breathe in the positive energy and release the negative through nice controlled belly breathing.
3. Put Yourself in Their Imaginary Shoes…I do this ALL the time, not to make excuses for yours or their behavior but to be more understanding and forgiving of it. You have no idea what happened to them right before this, what their day has been like or even what their life is like.
4. Be Thankful…After I put myself in their imaginary shoes, I think about all the great things that I have to be thankful for. I make a list of the top three things in my head…typically consisting of the 3 B’s (for those of you who don’t know me I will clarify-Byron, Bacon and Bluprint not always in this order).

Here’s to preserving my marbles and spreading the happy 🙂