Remember to breathe

It's not as obvious as it sounds.

When your life is going at what seems like 95 miles per hour...you have to put gas in the car, but forgot your wallet at home, now you're late for that meeting, there's a line at the convenience mart that stretches out the door, your sister called and wants you to take her to the airport at lunchtime ("Did you remember you promised?"), and on and on...you can forget to breathe.

Or at least it might feel like it. Suddenly, you realize you need to slow down.

Parents didn't create those "time outs" for nothing.

Yoga doesn't exist for no reason.

Meditation isn't popular just because someone said it should be.

There's good reason to remember to slow down and take a few breaths.

I'm doing that today. How about you?

Know when to take break or walk away

In my line of work, frustration can kick in for various reasons. Probably in your line of work, frustration kicks in, too, on occasion. For me, it might be because I:

_accept a deadline I shouldn't have.
_take on a project, underestimating the realistic time it will take.
_cannot reach my sources.
_forget to save the 10 or so perfect paragraphs when my computer crashes or shuts down.
_get behind in sending out invoices.
_have to work late into the night to meet a deadline.
_focus too much on what I earn.
_focus too little on what I earn.
_skip exercise when in the middle of a huge project.

The list can go on and on. Truth is, there are a lot of things that can lead to frustration. The trick is knowing when to take a break or walk away. You can learn to be in charge of it, and not let it be in charge of you. If you have too much on your plate, and you feel like you have too much on your plate, then you probably do, and it might be time to let something go. Maybe you need to farm out some of the work to a co-worker or colleague you know would be able to help. Maybe you need to say no to the next job that comes across your desk. Or maybe you need to literally get up from your desk and take a walk.

It's important to pay attention to what your body needs from you, especially when you're working or living in a high-stress environment.

Realize it's perfectly acceptable to say no, to back away from an argument, or do whatever it takes for you to find peace and calm again.

If you're used to living in chaos, then chaos is probably your comfort zone, and you may not even know what calm feels like. But it's never too late to learn.

The best thing I ever did for my life was to start riding my bike. On the seat of my bike, I gave myself the opportunity to learn what it felt like to feel at ease. The exercise worked off anxiety I was feeling, and the repetitive nature of pedaling pushed my mind into a meditative state. If I was thinking about something stressing me out when I first started riding, by the time I finished my ride, my mind had left that nonsense and had moved onward to the solution and new state of calm.

I liked that feeling much better.

The next time you find yourself in a heated moment with yourself or someone else, get up and walk away. You don't have to be a parent or child to get the time out. We all need time outs. And you don't have to do it abruptly. You can quietly and calmly announce that you need to leave the room, either to yourself (Yes, I'm serious.) or to someone else. Then do it. Take a break from whatever it is that ails you (especially if it's yourself) and walk away.

If you have a bike nearby, I encourage you to get on it and ride. Ride for as long as you can, and then ride back to where you were. I know you'll feel much better. Here's someone who agrees with me.

Question of the day: Why do you think a walk or a ride can help relieve frustration? Post your comments here.