It's One Factor Affecting Your Overall Stress Level
Our work, our chores, taking care of our kids (and perhaps other needy relatives) if we have them, commuting, shopping, you name it; these activities may take up more time than we seem to have. This adds to our overall stress level. How do we cope?
Trying to Make it All Work
We can only do this if we lose sleep (a famous TV commentator said that this is how she copes). Or lower our expectations (a colleague told me that she copes by lowering her standards of household cleanliness). Or do everything faster, which adds another element to our stress. Or multi-task many things, which results not only in further increasing our stress but also decreases our ability to focus adequately on the things that matter, or to fully enjoy them.
Would These Things Help?
Prioritizing.
We could decide which things are essential and which could be done less frequently, or even eliminated! (But do we even have time to sit down and prioritize?)
Changing Habits.
- If those who are perfectionists could find a way to end this unhelpful character trait, their time crunch would be lessened. (But they don't know how to do that.)
- If those who procrastinate could find a way to end this character trait, they would reduce the stress that comes with knowing they are delaying the inevitable, and they wouldn't waste time. (But they don't know how to do that.)
Increasing Efficiency. We occasionally learn time-saving tricks that may help. Some years ago, I learned about a good cleaning system (Speedcleaning); I bought the book and their supplies, and it has helped me clean my space thoroughly yet quickly (I have no affiliation with them).
The Ultimate in Help
If you acquire an Inner Guide, it will provide the ultimate in help. An Inner Guide solves problems in four steps:
1. It scans our entire memory bank (which it can access because it has no mental static interfering) for the origins of problems. Here, the problems might include a) how one got into this over-scheduled situation in the first place, b) how one developed any unhelpful habits that interfere, and c) all past memories of information that might help with this situation.
2. It accesses new solutions for our problems.
3. It creates complex stimuli in order to undo old habits and enable new, better habits to replace the old ones.
4. It works to bring this new knowledge into our awareness, so that we can act on it. The first three steps occur quickly. This fourth step takes time.
Examples:
• What if someone is too busy because she is trying to keep up with the Joneses? An Inner Guide would find the source of this desire, and through its work, enable her to realize that she doesn't have to do that.
• What if she doesn't have enough time because she is a perfectionist? Or a procrastinator? An Inner Guide would find where, in her past, these habits developed, and why. Through its four steps, it would enable her to end these habits.
• If you are someone who does your own housecleaning, what if, when you read my reference above to Speedcleaning, you didn't bother to check it out? That would leave unresolved the answer as to whether or not it would be of any help to you. The unresolved answer creates a disturbance in your mind that adds to your stress level. An Inner Guide would remember the reference and, either now or later, enable you to check it out. You would then know whether or not it would be of any help to you. If you decided yes, you would be helped to enjoy a cleaner house while saving time. And either way, whether yes or no, you would have ended the contribution to your stress level that was caused by the unanswered question. Yes, even an unanswered question, no matter how trivial, causes a mental disturbance that adds to your stress level.
The Inner Guide
You can acquire an Inner Guide with my course, Achieving Emotional Comfort®, which is available at: go.emotionalcomfort.com/getcourse
