Keep your cool (and relax)

Keep a cool head in the summer months mainly means keeping your head literally cool. But now that the sparrows have so far remained neatly on the roof and the fan has stood idle in the corner of the cupboard, anti-heat tips are not necessary. What can you get warm from? Stress... do you worry about things easily? Then here are a few tips to avoid getting into stress chicken mode.

Tip 1 - Just breathe

Do you feel tension building up? Focus on your breathing, do you know the 4 7 8 technique? Place your hand on your stomach and breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds. Hold your breath for 7 seconds and then exhale for 8 seconds. Do these regularly and you will breathe easier and automatically in the right way. At Happlify you will find various breathing exercises and ways to relax, such as here: De-stress in 5 minutes? You can do it with these ideas!

Tip 2 - Stop! Me time

Do you still have 127 things to do and are you already behind 87? Stop! Take some time for yourself. It sounds contradictory, because you don't have time for that, do you? But turning off your phone for fifteen minutes, having a cup of tea and enjoying the silence brings you peace, so that you can then go through the day in full gear like a Max Verstappen. Do you find it difficult to make time for yourself? Then plan it with, for example, a nice planner.

Tip 3 - Back to nature

Research shows that spending time in the woods significantly lowers your stress level. Great reason for a walk in the woods! That doesn't have to be a two-hour walk through the Hoge Veluwe National Park. The small bush behind your house, or the park around the corner have the same effect. Also read this blog post: Back to nature where Samatha has inspiring tips for you to experience nature in different ways.

Tip 4 - Stop worrying

Are you a real worrier? Then, while worrying, ask yourself: Does it help me to worry about this now? Can I fix this NOW? No? Then move on. Planning a moment of worry and writing down everything that comes into your head on a piece of paper also helps. That way it's out of your head and you have room for other things.

Did you know that worrying makes you anxious? And being anxious doesn't make you happy. How to deal with this, including simple exercises, can be found in Mariko's brand new Happlify your life workbook . Now temporarily available for €20,- including free online reminder worth €47,- Order here .

Tip 5 - Exciting date

...with the dentist, for example? Or another nerve-wracking item in your agenda? Try not to worry too much about it beforehand. In English they have a nice expression for this: Cross that bridge when you get to it. Don't worry until it actually happens. When what you fear (that the drilling hurts, that you forget your text during a presentation) actually happens. It's a waste of all the days before to let your nerves ruin it.

Tip 6 - Mind zero and do

This takes some experience/practice but your fear is a feeling, and just that. It says nothing about what is about to happen. You may have already thought up 60 scenarios about how something will go in advance, but you never know how it will actually go. Let it go and surrender to the moment. Don't think and just go, right through the fear . Feel the fear and do it anyway. The fear is there, let it be. Feel the fear, but do nothing with it. Make that jump, and the net will appear on its own.

Tip 7 - Adventure

Are you stressed about something unknown? For example, are you going to fly for the first time? Think of it as an adventure rather than something "scary" you've never done before. Changing the way you look at something often changes how you feel.

Hopefully these tips will help you. And if not, remember: Stressed spelled backwards is desserts . And that makes us all happy.

💬 Tell me, how do you keep your cool?

Author - Martinique Koevoets from Martinique Translations
Crazy about language and everything related to it. Translator, copywriter, reading enthusiast, amateur photographer, but also mother, partner and cat lady ;). Takes you enthusiastically on a journey to the nicest and most special places!