How to -Live one day at a time to remove stress & anxiety from your life

Being busy is relative and being busy is not the cause of stress and anxiety is being hurried or more specifically feeling hurried. I was conditioned to be hurried in the Army and Police department. Here is how I stopped being and feeling hurried. Hope it helps you.

My mindset is that if I am safe and those that I care about are safe, there is not much else I care about. The easiest way to know what you really care about is by what you are willing to do to fix it if it is not right. Not how much you are willing to complain about it, but by what you are willing to do about it. Most of the things that people say they care about is not supported by anything other than words. So be truthful with what you really care about. Now anything that does not affect those things you choose not to be hurried over. Next most important thing that I care about is doing those things that make me “combat ready” to perform for those that I love what I do for them as long as I can. This is a tough one because you will need to make some choices. Look at anyone of your habits, any one no matter how small and ask yourself whether it will sustain you and keep you combat ready in the long run. This is sort of the idea that people who ignore their mind/body/spirit to make money, will spend that money to get their mind/body/spirit healthy. Few things are life and death and if they are not important to me.

The container of my life is filled with a few large stones like God, Family, and country. They take up 90% of the container. There is very little room for any sand that symbolizes what so many people care about like money, status, what others think, and people they don’t like who they think about all the time. The less big stones you have the more room for sand, and sand is easily blown away.

Seven days a week I get up at 0730. Sometimes it may vary from 15-20 minutes. What I don’t do when the alarm goes off is lay in bed thinking about my day. I sit up, kiss Odin good morning. Then I stand up and it begins. From 0730 to about 0830 my day is front loaded with the habits that make me combat effective and bring joy to my life. Prayer, devotions, Odin, coffee, natural light, quiet, stretching, vitamins, and drinking water. Most importantly I do not touch my cell phone except to turn off my alarm until 0830. If there was something so important in that hour, they would call my wife’s phone. I seldom talk to Lisa before 0830.

Out of everything I have done in my recovery, this morning routine has had the biggest impact. I have to be right with the Lord before I can be right with this world. Starting off with giving gratitude for waking up and being able to walk changes things. Start off with a still mind.

I realize this may not be easy for everyone reading this. We all have different lives. If you cannot get an hour start off with 5 minutes and add 5 minutes a week as you go. Especially for busy mom’s this will mean getting up earlier. Taking time for yourself in the morning fosters better habits than taking time for yourself after the kids go to bed. Feed yourself first so you can be there for the kids as long as possible. If your schedule is too busy for any sort of a combat readiness routine and you don’t change, it will not be long before you crash. We all get the same 24 hours a day but spend those hours differently. First things must come first. Everything needs maintenance. Making a routine of it is better than the most common fix on failure method.

Have a place to go, I have three. A recliner in my garage, a recliner in my basement, and my deck. Create a space even if it is a chair at your dining room table.

Monday-Friday from 0830- 5 PM is for work. I am either writing, returning phone calls or training. After finishing my mourning routine, the only place I sit in the house until after work is my desk chair. When I am done at 5 PM all my time till bedtime is dedicated to the Lord in the form of church and groups, spending time with family and my Brothers. Thats all the weekends are for.

Currently I have about 5 men in my life that no matter what time they call, 24/7 and say they need me I would roll before they could finish their sentence. These men have shown me over time that actions are proof that words need nothing. My circle is not just small, it is tight. All relationships are either positive, negative, or neutral. I do not make time for neutral or negative relationships, private or professionally. If having you in my life does not make me a better man, there is no sense in having you in my life. If a relationship does not increase my combat readiness, I end it.

There have been times in my life when I was not combat ready like when Frank was born and needed heart surgeries, or when my mom had her motorcycle accident, or when she passed away. Not being combat ready when the attack came left devastating damage. When these life changing moments happen, the devil will use them to exploit every weakness you have. These things will blindside you’re blowing you off the hamster wheel of life that distracts people from what is important. Refuse to get on the hamster wheel knowing that no matter how fast the hamster runs he will never get anywhere. Step off the hamster wheel, look around, find your big rocks, start your day off with things that will make you strong when the things you know are in your future come to pass. Each day is our daily bread, and it cannot be stored up but must be renewed every day. Every lifetime is made up of one day at a time. Make a conscious decision on what you will spend your time doing. Hope this helps you- Be blessed George