Did you read the links I provided yesterday? The brain rot article was extra fascinating to me. One point in particular resonated (don't you
love being able to use Reader's Digest Words to Ponder?) with me.
The section where he mentioned that stress is something to be expected,
and we all know about the stressors in life (mostly changes like
relationships, homes, jobs, health) but that being with chronic
complainers and negative people is as lethal as stress to our well-being.
Which reminds me of a really stress filled time at work several years ago. When we got
our new Windows based computer system half the staff had limited
computer experience. And our whole schtick was to go completely
paperless. Let me give a hearty laugh right now. Har. Har. Har.
Paperless DID NOT happen. However, stress bloomed like those super
growing trees that promise ten feet of growth per year. Part of the
problem was the OOPS factor, our DOS based data didn't carry over as promised.
So everything had to be re-keyed into the new system. That was just one
of the issues. The stress and tension was so big I thought we might lose a few staff people. (No, not death, quitting, but there were times
death might have been welcomed.) Anyhoo, we somehow survived that
trial intact. We each kind of found a niche and learned it and then trained
others who needed to know it. We still occasionally have a serendipitous
moment when we stumble onto some sneaky and helpful shortcut. Long way
of saying, stress and negativity definitely was the color of the day,
week, month.
Oddly, a few months later I began breaking molars.
After the second one cracked and needed to be repaired I realized that
during the tension of that couple of months my whole face hurt. I
had been clenching my teeth, probably even as I slept, and I weakened
teeth that had been repaired when I was younger. The weak areas were
vulnerable to my stress. I became so aware of that little bad habit that
to this day I feel my stress in my face. When my face feels tense I
eventually check my stress level and work on some ways to decrease that
tension.
The office has been quiet the past two days in spite of experiencing, with our entire city, a boil
alert. We had a huge sewer implosion and it had the potential of
contaminating our entire water supply. So we were unable to drink or
cook with water unless it had been boiled for at least a minute. Each of
us brought in our own water, a drug rep brought in water. Washing
hands was a conundrum. Wash our hands with soap and contaminated water,
then follow with hand sanitizer, or skip the contaminated water
altogether? But we survived with minimal complaining.
And a co-worker, who
reads my blog periodically, reported that she was going to look at a
negative as a positive. Instead of complaining that we have to park far
away from our office (with the ready reminder of the security guard
parked at the mouth of the parking garage where we are not supposed to park) she was going to restate the trek as an opportunity for extra
exercise. Especially since she usually packs a Bible, a Bible study book
and several bottles of water as well as her lunch. Ha. Ha. Way to go.
Get that cardio on, Baby.
Have a happy, uplifting, positive
weekend. What activities do you have planned and how can you frame them
so that you can see the good bits and minimize the not so good ones?
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