Читать книгу Stresshacking - Louise Lloyd - Страница 16

Whatever means of transport you use, journeys can be stressful. But they needn’t be. It doesn’t seem to matter which way we travel; we are all going to meet busyness and delays sometimes, and that will mean we will at times be late. We have a choice in those moments – to get frustrated and anxious, or to remain calm and make the best of our journey.

When I mention the term road rage, people often get a glint in their eye and appear quite happy to be part of that club. I mean, idiots need telling, right? But think about this for a moment. Road rage is a classic symptom of chronic stress. It makes no logical sense at all to get irate with a stranger that you have likely never seen before, nor will again. It makes no logical sense to further endanger your life by getting right up behind the person that has just pulled out in front of you. No logical sense at all, other than to the stressed-out ego which feels totally justified in its rage.

So the question is this – do you let your frustrations and rage get the better of you or do you choose to own your state of being and do something about it to restore calm? Which is better for your overall sense of peace in life? You honestly don’t need to get involved in anyone else’s driving ability, other than to drive safely yourself and keep out of harm’s way. We don’t need to battle with anyone on our journeys – only our stress does that. In the words of Elsa from Frozen again, next time you get tempted by road rage, see if you have the ability to ‘let it go’. Honestly, it’s transformative, as I have learnt myself.

So here’s my advice on making your journey one that doesn’t add to your stress:

1. Allow more time than you think you need. People often create their own stress by not doing this.

2. If you can avoid peak traffic times then maybe that’s a better use of your time. I always prefer to get somewhere an hour early and work from there rather than sit in traffic. It’s not always possible I know, but if it is it’s well worth the extra effort.

3. Go out of your way to be generous to others when travelling. Seriously! This will transform your journey, let alone theirs.

4. Music? Podcast? Audio book? Silent thinking time? What is the best way for you to enjoy your journey? I have to say I am not an advocate of listening to anything engaging or of chatting on the phone (hands free) while driving, particularly in heavy traffic, because I believe focus is best spent on driving. That said, road and traffic condition depending, enjoy your ride!

5. If you get stuck in traffic, or your means of transport is delayed, try not to be in resistance of this fact. It is what it is. The best you can do is stay cool, calm and collected so that when you do eventually arrive at your destination, albeit late, you are still cool, calm and collected. Best to arrive in that state, ready to be effective and fully present, than to arrive as a frazzled mess that is completely mentally scattered. It’s obvious I know, but how often do you arrive somewhere late in a totally stressed-out, scattered state? Late and calm is way better than late and stressed.

# The hack

Your journey is your choice. Own your state of being and do everything that you can to make your journey a stress-free one. Breathe. At the very least, your journeys can become non-adversarial, and at best they can be a really enjoyable part of your day. Even if you don’t like travel, you don’t have to be at war with it.