There’s no doubt about it, at times life can be extremely overwhelming and tough!

We have severe stresses such as the loss of a loved one, a life threatening illness, chronic disease and bankruptcy. Then we have the minor stresses such as “did I feed the cat this morning?!?” or “I’m late for work again!” 

Whilst it would be nice to completely eradicate all stresses from life, the truth is that at times things just go out of balance! Whether that’s our health, body, mind, job, parenting, friendships, finances, etc. There’s always something that has the potential to cause stress (unless you’re a buddhist monk – where nothing phases you whatsoever!). 

In this post i’m going to share with you 5 Truly Magnificent Exercises To Help You Cope with the Stresses of Life – so that you can put things back into perspective and regain that all important mental equilibrium…

#1 Meditate

I’ve been mediating for nearly 2 years now and it’s completely changed my life. The things that used to bother me don’t even scratch the surface. I’m calmer, happier and healthier. Mediation has been proven to help people reduce stress and regain mental clarity, leading to greater performance in everyday life. 

I would highly recommend downloading an app called ‘CALM’. Try mediating for at least 10 minutes per day for the next month and just see how much better you feel for it! 

#2 Walk 

Walking is truly AMAZING, not only because it gets you moving, burns calories and is low impact on the joints, but also because it helps clear the mind and puts you into a state of flow. 

World famous inventor and Apple guru Steve Jobs would take regular walks each day to help him clear his mind, work through problems, and gain inspiration for new products and launches. 

Walking also helps to improve creativity and is a great way to process out stress by reflecting on how you are feeling and what you need to do moving forwards to make things better. 

Whenever you are feeling stressed why not go for a walk? Whether that’s a walk around the block, a stroll round the park or a hike in the peak district – it doesn’t matter! Connect outdoors with Mother Nature and I can guarantee that you’ll feel 10x better afterwards. 

#3 Sword Above Your Head

I heard this in an audiobook recently and it’s really stayed with me ever since. Imagine that you are constantly walking around with a sword above your head pointing downwards – At any point that could come crashing down and…death happens. 

As crazy as this may initially sound, this is what we are all potentially facing at any given moment. Whether it’s crossing the road, an unexpected plane crash, a long term illnesses, etc.

If you imagine a swooping, temperamental sword, swinging above your head when you are stressed you will soon put things back into perspective. Most of the things we worry about are insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and they either don’t happen or are really just minor problems blown up in our mind!  

Life is precious, try not to take it for granted. Live in the moment and enjoy every moment you are given. 

#4 Breathing Exercise

If you need a quick fix try this…

Set a timer on your phone for 60s. Once you’ve pressed the button for the timer, inhale for 5 seconds, then hold your breathe for 5s, then finally exhale for 5s (15s per rep), complete this 4x (totalling 1 minute). 

If you have time, try doing this for 3-5 minutes and just notice how much calmer you feel. Take a moment to pause, regain your breathing and let your mind figure out the rest. 

#5 Gratitude Bracelet 

I pinched this idea after reading the book ‘The Secret’ – basically I have a bracelet and every time I put it on I have to think of ‘5 things i’m grateful for’. For example here are some things I remind myself of…

• beautiful wife
• loving son
• roof over my head
• enough money to buy food
• gym membership 
• clean clothes
• water 
• phone
• friends
• family 
• the ability to walk, talk, read, write, think
• car
• electricity 

There are soooooo many things to be grateful for…

Putting yourself in a state of gratitude positively alters the chemicals in your brain and puts you into a better state of mind. All of a sudden you realise how lucky you are and how wonderful life is – you’ve just got to refocus on all that’s good.

Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this post please comment below…

Nick 🙂