21/03/06

Did I talk too much? Sometimes I get too carried away and talk to much, too loud, too bluntly. Is that the real me? Is that when I'm myself? I guess so. The ultimate suanner, the ultimate pickiness, the ultimate complain king. Wow super me.

I've been wasting my time donno doing what from 7.30pm to 10pm. Its true that when you can't live without computer, computer will start to drain life out of you. you'll start staring at screen without doing anything, you'll start clicking on things without knowing where you want are going, you'll start looking at more information without knowing their importance to you.

Ok concert is coming on Friday. I'm going to clear the work out of my mind before i go to play music. A heavy mind will produce heavy music. Sigh. Solo on friday... scared? erm.... yawn haaaa. But hope my complacency won't cause me to be over confident and make me fall during the performance haaa.


Slice of Life

Stress and the Kettle

The stress and frustration that we hold within ourselves is very much like the boiling water in a kettle. Many of us don't think about it, but pent-up stress accumulates and adds pressure until we finally blow our top. Like the water that finally boils and the steam makes the kettle whistle.

There are often disturbing things that we deal with, that instead of letting go, we dump into our kettle, the back of our minds and hearts. For example, working with someone who deliberately tries to make things difficult for you. All day long, things that affect us negatively get dumped into our sub-conscious instead of being dealt with consciously and released.

Now this is usually fine until we're caught in some situation that lights a fire under us. This causes our dormant feelings and emotions to begin heating up. You know what happens next - when we've had all we can take and the pressure inside us grows so much that it seeks an outlet, we blow. All the pent-up frustrations and emotions just push their way past our rational framework and explode.

Now it's crucial that we know how to manage stress, because stress is not only unpleasant, it damages relationships, careers, and your health. Just as the lime build-up accumulated from water sitting in the kettle begins to eat away at it from the inside, unreleased stress does the same to you. Gradually, what was once a strong and reliable kettle, becomes a worn, broken metal can fit for the garbage heap. You can't allow this to take place inside you so you've got to learn to release stress properly.

Oftentimes, we begin accumulating stress by not being upfront and clear with people we're dealing with, so we end up stuck with this negative energy. Whether with your partner, children, friends, colleagues, or even your boss, learn to be clear on your position concerning what you want done, or what can be expected of you. Let them know that "this works for me" or "this can't be done by this time unless something else gives".

We all sometimes find ourselves caught in situations that make our blood boil, but you must learn to either remove the heat source or remove yourself from it. Try not to stay in situations that keep increasing your pressure. You can walk away from a stressful situation. It's not cowardice - it's very simply, good sense. If you feel that something needs to be done about the situation, remember you can always return to it some other time, after you've cooled off or gone through the options you have, and so on.

And always remember that you need time for yourself. Take breaks from what you're doing - plan a relaxing vacation and don't just plan it, make sure you take it, take a long drive with friends or family and talk about things that are bothering you, take a long warm bath - do whatever is necessary to release your frustrations at the end of the day. Try not to carry the stress into the following day.