Stress

My mind has been kind of all over the place the last couple of weeks. I was doing well with my numbers, and then I got sick, AGAIN! Ugh. I know why, I try to do too much sometimes. Then I follow that generally by burning out. But the funny thing is, as busy as I am sometimes, I still feel like I've got a better mental state than the majority of my friends.

I had the opportunity this week to meet up with several of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time. A couple of them, I haven't seen in more than 5 years. One, since the Christmas before last. Sometimes I become really wrapped up in my training, And I forget that I have a life outside of kung fu.

It was really frightening to me, to hear some of their stories about their lives recently. One friend, has been so stressed that she wakes up with clumps of hair in her hands. Two of my other friends were discussing how they've recently started to have panic attacks. What is going on?!? We're young, mostly with little responsibility. None of us have children. We all have a pretty good quality of living. I mentioned this to Brandi and she said several of her friends are also on anti-anxiety medications.

I understand stress. I've had plenty of stress in the last however many years, but I also spent a lot of my time in China learning to deal with stress. Practicing Qi Gong, Tai Ji, meditation. These are all tools that I don't even realize I'm using a lot of the time. It's sad for me to see people every day, who are totally unable to unplug themselves, and just relax. The stuff that they have, and the things that they do that are supposed to be making them happy, are really just adding weight onto their shoulders. And they can't even see it.

It makes me really appreciate the opportunity I had living in China. I learned how to be happy without 'things' and to really cherish the few luxuries I was allowed. I watched a great Ted Talk about happiness. Got me thinking....


http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy?language=en

Stereotyping

About a month ago, I was invited to a management training course to represent someone from generation Y. It was incredible to me as we examined stereotypes given to the different generations in the workforce, how unaware I was of the fact that I too was constantly unconsciously stereotyping others, and being stereotyped by them. Becoming aware of this in just one aspect of my life, really opened the flood gates for me. I started to become aware of all of the judgments I was making on a daily basis and how it was affecting my interactions with other people. I always considered myself open minded, but I realized that in some situations, I`m unaware of the snap categorizations I make.

As many people have heard I`m sure, Leonard Nimoy passed away last week. I read this old letter that he wrote, and it`s incredible how he`s taken a role that he played, and shared the thoughts of the character to make him relate-able to so many people. I`d like to share it with you. It`s something I intend to keep reading for a long time. Live long and prosper.