Breathe Easy - A day at a time.

Has it ever happened to you - that you get so caught up in your work and sometimes you start getting stressed out without even realizing it!!!

Just the other day, I was passing by the desk one of my colleague when I saw her getting stressed out and she was all hassled not knowing what to do. I told  her about a simple trick that has helped me and that was to just breathe! Yes, you read that right 'Breathe'. Close your eyes, take a deep breath - inhale through your nose for 3 counts and exhale through your mouth for 3 counts, do this 3 times. Letting go of stress is as simple as that. She took my advise and was surprised that she felt much better after just breathing-in.

Now don't be mistaken, this breathing routine will not take the source of your stress away. But what it will do is definitely calm your nerves down so that you can take clear and correct decisions in order to progress further with your work at hand.

A little bit of stress in life is not such a bad thing, but letting it go unchecked is. It is important to realize when you are getting stressed out and take effective actions to reduce it.

You need to have a holistic approach when tackling stress. The stress triggers are different for every person, but the solution is same.

What you need to start taking care of is your-SELF.

S - Serenity - for stress reduction, peace & calm.
E - Exercise - for the spirit, mind & body.
L - Love - for the physiological & emotional rewards.
F - Food - to feed the senses.

Once you start taking care of your-SELF, you will definitely start noticing a positive change coming around in your life.

There are certain actions that can be taken by to live a Stress-Free Life. 

• Identify your sources of stress (stress-triggers). It's important to be aware in order to eliminate them.
• Take care of your finances early, make a plan - they can really drain your energy if out of control.
• Have realistic expectations from yourself. Changing habits does not happen over-night.
• Include some regular exercise in your routine - A healthy body has a host of benefits.
• Do something everyday that makes you happy and relaxes you.
• Learn to say 'NO', you can't say yes to everything - practice asserting yourself in a positive way.

Don't worry, be Happy. Learn to have fun - everybody needs a bit of it.

Finally don't forget to take the time to Breathe Easy - A day at a time!

Achieving Goals - A day at a time!

So the other day I was sitting by the window looking out at this large expanse of water before me with the evening sun ready to dip down - it was simply beautiful with just the right colors in the sky that would normally please the eyes. But there I was still sulking and thinking how do I get out of this feeling of helplessness and frustration of not being able to accomplish my goals?

I had set out myself a plan - and until that time I thought it was a good one, till it all came crashing down on me!!!

Now I am a little wiser and shall share with you all what has helped me move away from a position of helplessness & frustration to one where I feel more confident, less stressed and happy with myself. Specifically with regards to accomplishing my goals - I had read up and implemented the advise regarding Goals Setting and how they should be SMART!

SMART? What do you mean SMART? How can goals be SMART? Well the truth it they can be :)

SMART is an Acronym used for Goal Setting:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Achievable
R - Relevant
T - Time Bound

In simple words it works like this : you break down your major goals into smaller specific goals which can be then be measured up and achieved within a certain time frame so that they stay relevant to you and help you in finally reaching your Major Goal.

As you break up your Major Goals into smaller, easily manageable & achievable goals, you will start noticing the positive impact it has on your overall self.

Because now you are :-

• Achieving your goals.
• Visually seeing your progress as it happens.
• Free from the Fear of Failure, as you now start achieving your smaller goals moving one step closer to the major goal.
• Stress Free - by having a plan that is relevant and not having over the top expectations with yourself - Self-Induced Stress gets reduced.

The lesser the stress the happy you are, the happy you are the more you can achieve, the more you can achieve the more progress you make, the more progress you make the lesser stress you feel! And then the cycle continues.

Identify your Goals - align them to the SMART System and see the difference it creates for you - A day at a time!

P.S. If you have any comments or want to share your experiences please do comment below. I would love to hear from you.

A day by the Sea

I thought I should start this Blog with the above photo "A day by the Sea".

Life at sea is challenging but moments like these bring tranquility and perspective to life. It makes you take a step back breath-in and want to ponder "What defines my life on this planet?"

With this blog I wish to share life as we know it and how to make the most of it "A day at a time."