Now that the busy season has passed, it is time to move on to things that may have been put on hold.  But before you go trying to conquer the mess that has been piling up, remember not to stress…take a page from the guys here (no offense boys), make a decision and don’t look back, good or bad can’t change it now, so roll with it.  You may find that this happy-go-lucky attitude may help you learn to love life again!

As women, we tend to be overly critical of ourselves…must be inherent in our nature, but we can retrain ourselves to be more accepting.  We over think and pick apart things to over think them even more…is it any wonder we drive ourselves crazy?  We instinctually know what to do, yet we recount what we’ve done and wonder if it was the right decision.  Sound familiar?  Yeah, we all do it to some degree, but learn trust yourself…you made a decision you felt was right and pondering over it will not change the outcome, so accept it and move on.  (I am assuming here that you aren’t some evil twisted person, but generally a good person with a heart)  Having more time to make a decision is not necessarily a good thing…mulling it over can lead to more opportunity for error and will distract you from other things that may require your attention (possibly your kids, hubby, significant other) which can only lead to more stress.

Decisions, having too many is exhausting, having too few can feel confining…where is the happy medium?  In certain areas of your life keep things constant so you can put them on autopilot, like brushing your teeth, breakfast, workout time so that when you have to make important decisions your mind isn’t cluttered with stuff that still requires an answer.  Most of us hit a point where there is so much that requires us to make a decision that when it comes to making one as simple as what to make for dinner, we cave and go get take out because we are so overwhelmed by the day.  Making lots of little decisions throughout the day can exhaust our minds and make it darn near impossible to make big ones when they arise, that is when we lose it and those close to us think we’ve snapped.  Thinking constructively is great, but it is a fine line before you cross into toxic thinking.  Do you replay the scenario in your head with several outcomes?  Yeah, well I’m talking to you then, STOP IT!  Analyzing it won’t change it and you’ll probably alienate all your friends as you recount it over and over or we’ll all become raging alcoholics having to listen to you.  Learn to trust your instinct and decisions and move on…what is done is done so accept it and be ready to tackle your next challenge.

Take a break.  Simple, when things get really crazy, go shopping, see a movie or even go for a hike.  I used to think my brother was a few cards shy of a deck when things were so nuts and he just said “f it” and went out with friends.  It drove me nuts, how could things be left undone?  Well, turns out he taught me something, problem is still gonna be there, but maybe coming back to it later I’m better equipped to fix it.  Plus he tended to be happier as I was constantly stressed.  HMMMM, yeah you get where I’m going.  You can think better when you aren’t stressed, come up with better solutions and you are happier in the process.  Meditate, yeah I know, we’ve all heard this before…but meditation is just making time for yourself to clear your mind and focus your attention on something as simple as your breath.  But it could be riding a motorcycle, for others it could be a spinning class, running, walking the dog.  It is all about being in the present and focusing on that moment.

Make sure you are well rested.  Sleep deprivation is the root of all that ails us, not getting enough of it has terrible consequences on our health.  But did you ever stop to think what it does to us psychologically?  Fatigue makes it hard to make good decisions and then when we do make them in this state we wonder if it was right, then we stress and eat crap, don’t exercise, start to gain a few pounds, become critical of ourselves and then well, you get the picture, it’s a terrible vicious cycle.   Disconnect from anything electronic an hour before you sleep and if you can, keep it out of your bedroom, that way you can ensure a great night’s sleep.  Clear your mind at the end of the day, it is over and have faith in yourself that you did everything you could and it’ll all work out as it should.  No amount of wishing and hoping will change the outcome so fretting about it will only cause you to lose sleep.  Believe in yourself.  We are all amazing in our own right and celebrate that, stop criticizing everything you do.  Implement a plan, be flexible with it and see where it leads you.  Things work out the way they should, so mount up and enjoy the ride ladies!