Family Life, it's stressful!
Stress - it's everywhere, we are stressed, our kids are stressed, we are stressed about being stressed. I've come to think about stress a bit like food. We can't NOT have it, AND we have to select nourishing stress over sugary/caffeiney/boozey stress. Let's do a listicle (less stress!):
Junk Food Stress
- mindlessly scrolling on social media
- comparing our kids to other peoples kids
- sugar/caffeine/booze
- over-scheduling so we don't have to deal with kids and screens at home
- over-spending, using a credit card when it can't be paid in full at the end of the month
- too much stuff (shoes, clothes, kitchen gadgets, sheets, towels... jammed up and squeezed in drawers and cupboards)
- reinventing the "getting out of the house" or "going to bed" routine every day
- our kids problems, that they can/should solve (getting up, homework, friends, fashion)
- how our co-parent parents, trying to get them to change
- procrastinating (start your taxes, people!)
Nourishing Stress*
- waking up early to workout, meditate, journal or read (it IS stressful to do this)
- goals that are just out of reach, and not totally crazy
- doing Special Time with our kids on a regular basis
- menu planning / healthy meals / healthy food in the house
- creating and maintaining routines
- our own problems (our career, our relationships, our hobbies)
- connecting with friends (can be on social media, or the phone, or in person)
- making & eating greens, caffeine free drinks, booze free evenings
- continually editing our stuff and calendar so it reflects our values
- going to the Dr's for annual exams, mammograms, colonoscopys, mole checks, etc
*The "aha moment" is that the good for you stuff causes stress also. Trying to fit it in, not wanting to, it's uncomfortable - all stressful. And at the end of the day the nourishing stress makes us feel good tired and the junk food stress makes feel wired tired.