Random Stress Management Rule

I’ve found that sometimes, rather than trying to control my reactions to stressful situations, it can be easier to just control the situation.

This sounds contrary to the standard advice, “You can’t change the situation, you can only change you’re reaction to it.”

That’s often true, but let’s tackle this stress monster in multiple ways, shall we?

My stress-reducing rule:

Do not check the mail as you’re leaving the house. Similarly, do not do things like listen to your voicemail on your way into a meeting.

Also, do not check your email on your phone when you’re in the car wash on your way to spend the day with your mother and nephew.

Why?

Because you might get mail, news, requests, messages, that (1) demand immediate attention, (2) make you worry about something you have no control over, and/or (3) threaten to ruin your carefree day.

You might as well wait until later, when you’re in a position to do something about whatever the problem is.

What if you were on your way to spend the day doing things like this…

…and you were the only person not having fun because you had a brick on your chest, caused by a situation you couldn’t prevent, control, or deal with until later?

Ignorance really can be blissful!

p.s. That didn’t really happen to me when we were at Disney, but it sure did almost ruin my day of school shopping with two of my favorite people.