I had to laugh to myself when I randomly opened a page in a book I was looking at and came across this series of statements with the question, “Which of these apply to you?”

• I look after my diet
• I exercise regularly
• I spend at least 30 minutes a day doing nothing
• I meditate often
• I drink fewer than 3 cups of coffee a day
• I am comfortable with silence
• I plan my day
• I work in a job I like
• My efforts are recognised by my superiors
• I take regular holidays
• I am seldom bored
• I have a pet
• I have an active social life
• I can see the positive side of change

I laughed because I didn’t even need to look at the title of the chapter to guess correctly that it was about stress and how it can be “measured”.

I laughed more because all the things listed above can reduce stress and I still don’t do many of them. And then I cried.

I cried because most of these tasks are simple and should be an automatic part of anyone’s day but I still find them difficult to put into practice. I should look after my diet,  I should get enough exercise, I should take time to relax and take holidays. I should do a lot of things but they just don’t get done.

So trying to take a positive approach I am going to think about small changes I can make so that the next time I come across questions like these, instead of laughing ironically, I have a nice, smug smile on my face instead. 🙂