Today I saw a Facebook Group devoted those
who have to hit the snooze button many
times. It got me wondering.
I went searching on the internet, and
found it to be a hot topic. There are
581,000 search results for "snooze button."
It seems that there are many ideas to "fix"
the problem. Some of them suggest getting
enough sleep. It's an excellent idea, the
only problem with that is that many in our
current culture just aren't able to do that.
All of the ideas have some merit. Even
the ones that put the alarm clock on the
other side of the room, or the idea of
setting multiple alarms. Eventually they
seem to work, because sooner or later
the person will get up. However, as the
Facebook group seemed to note, they still
feel they need their caffeine, the "extra"
sleep didn't help.
It might just be helpful to know WHY there
is a problem, and WHY it seems to be more
and more difficult over time to awaken.
It has to do with the way our bodies work.
When we first awaken, we are in a hypnotized
state. The alarm goes off, and we awaken
just barely long enough to hit the snooze.
At that point, you actually go into a
deeper sleep state than when you first
awakened. Then the next time the alarm
goes off, you repeat the process, except
this time you were in a deeper sleep, and
then when you hit the snooze, you go even
deeper.
Can you see why it could seem like an endless
pit? Sooner or later you DO have to get up,
and you are in such a trance like state it
is difficult to function at first.
The other part of it is the fact that since
you are in a hypnotic state, it likely feels
like you are "driven" to be the way you are
in the morning. It probably feels like you
don't have a choice. After all, it has been
this way a long time, you've now accepted it
and have joined a community of people who
have also surrendered to it.
Sound familiar?
So...the best way to deal with awakening in
the morning is (please don't hate me
for this) to just get up when the alarm goes
off. I have found if I sit up, and turn
the light on immediately, and give myself
a few moments, I can begin to get going -
slowly - but get going, none-the-less.
One of the few ways to break a pattern is
to force yourself to break it. And part
of that comes from being conscious of what
is happening, and making a conscious choice
to do something different.
It can be done.
It just might be pretty difficult in the
beginning, and you may have to work at it.
Work before work? Ugghh. I know it sucks.
It would be so much better to just awaken
when our body felt it had enough sleep.
The only problem with that is we have to
find a way to negotiate our time
in a way that allows us that ability.
It also means dealing with stress more
effectively, as stress can be a huge energy
drain to our body, and have us feeling like
we need more sleep than we would if we were
able to better cope with the things that
stress us.
I know it may seem like an impossible choice.
However, with a willingness, there is a way.
You would be potentially surprised to know
that many "feed" off of stress. They feed
off of it because it is familiar. We love
the familiar, even when it doesn't work for
us. Familiar is our comfort zone.
That is a slightly different conversation, so
I will save it for another entry. For now,
though, at least you know a little something
that perhaps you didn't know before.
Maybe try an experiment tomorrow, and for a
few days, and see how you feel. I promise
it'll be really easy to go back to how things
are if you really want to, AND if you give
it some time, you might find it easier than
you thought to get up when the alarm first
goes off.
If you are interested in making changes, but
are not sure how, I would be happy to speak
with you about how that is possible. I am
a Life Coach and Certified Hypnotist, and you
would be surprised at the things you don't
know you don't know, and when you know, it's
all you need for some change to occur, that
in some cases, can almost seem like magic.
You can contact me at
blog at tintedworld.com
for any reason.
Feel free to comment here, and
Have a great night!
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stress. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Perspective of Peace
I just read a short tale of a king who offers a prize for the best picture of peace.To see it click here. It is a great little diddy on perspective, and I thought it worth sharing.
It says a lot about what "should" be obvious. I really believe that there should be no shoulds (smile), because they often lead to pain, confusion, and guilt. I find that shoulds often come from the mind of someone else, or something else (like "society"). However, in a case where a should can be empowering, I make an exception.
How can anyone acknowledge strength, if he did not have weakness to compare it to? Or acknowledge peace without knowing what turbulence was like? How do we often know something? Usually it's in the absence of its counterpart.
What is really fascinating to consider, though, is that within everything is everything else. Within strength, there IS a point of weakness. Within peace, there IS some turbulence. The parts of the weakness and turbulence may be tiny, but they are there. The only reason we don't see it or acknowledge it in that moment is because we focused on the more positive attributes, but those parts are there.
I say this because the same thing applies in reverse. The times that we are our most upset, our most frustrated, there is a seed of peace within. In order to find it, it may take everything we have, and maybe sometimes it's a battle that seems unable to be won - or a battle you are unwilling to fight.
I know how it can be. I have my moments. As much as I "know better" at this point in the game of my life, I still go to places that aren't productively creating outcomes that I want. However, the times that I can redirect my energies, it is almost magical.
The next time you are stressed, if you want to get out of it, take a couple of moments to do the following, and you may be surprised.
Take a deep breath in to the count of 3. Then exhale to the count of 6.
Take another deep breath in to the count of 3, and exhale to the count of 6.
Do it one more time. Breath in to the count of 3, and exhale to the count of 6.
You will likely notice that your body has relaxed. It couldn't help itself. And it took a minute, or two, to do. The key is to CONSCIOUSLY change your focus. Before I was aware of the things that I am now, I would feel like anything that I felt was being true to myself, and any attempt to alter it would be potentially seen as a deception.
While there are reasons to be willing to allow myself to feel what I am feeling, there is a point that it can become counterproductive, and feed the very energy that is uncomfortable (the energy that I am holding onto to be "true to myself"). In my work as a coach, I tell people that even if you are fooling yourself - so what? If the focus you have is not getting you anywhere but depressed, why not fool yourself?
There are people that believe that whatever you focus on you get more of. If that is true, then changing the focus if it's something you'd rather be without would make sense, don'tja think? If it isn't true, then what do you have to lose, really?
The next time you go looking for some quality, consider that you already have it and that you just need to awaken your awareness to it. The amazing thing is that a little "water" (thought power) can go a long way.
But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself, and see what happens. One word of warning though. The first times you do this, you may find that you go back where you were fairly easily. It's the comfortable and familiar after all. If that happens, it just means you'll have to do some considerable redirection. After awhile, though, you'll be surprised. You'll do less, and what you do do will get easier.
For this reason, you won't want to abandon ship quickly, and say it doesn't work. In my opinion, you will be doing yourself, and your life, an injustice.
Have a great weekend!
It says a lot about what "should" be obvious. I really believe that there should be no shoulds (smile), because they often lead to pain, confusion, and guilt. I find that shoulds often come from the mind of someone else, or something else (like "society"). However, in a case where a should can be empowering, I make an exception.
How can anyone acknowledge strength, if he did not have weakness to compare it to? Or acknowledge peace without knowing what turbulence was like? How do we often know something? Usually it's in the absence of its counterpart.
What is really fascinating to consider, though, is that within everything is everything else. Within strength, there IS a point of weakness. Within peace, there IS some turbulence. The parts of the weakness and turbulence may be tiny, but they are there. The only reason we don't see it or acknowledge it in that moment is because we focused on the more positive attributes, but those parts are there.
I say this because the same thing applies in reverse. The times that we are our most upset, our most frustrated, there is a seed of peace within. In order to find it, it may take everything we have, and maybe sometimes it's a battle that seems unable to be won - or a battle you are unwilling to fight.
I know how it can be. I have my moments. As much as I "know better" at this point in the game of my life, I still go to places that aren't productively creating outcomes that I want. However, the times that I can redirect my energies, it is almost magical.
The next time you are stressed, if you want to get out of it, take a couple of moments to do the following, and you may be surprised.
Take a deep breath in to the count of 3. Then exhale to the count of 6.
Take another deep breath in to the count of 3, and exhale to the count of 6.
Do it one more time. Breath in to the count of 3, and exhale to the count of 6.
You will likely notice that your body has relaxed. It couldn't help itself. And it took a minute, or two, to do. The key is to CONSCIOUSLY change your focus. Before I was aware of the things that I am now, I would feel like anything that I felt was being true to myself, and any attempt to alter it would be potentially seen as a deception.
While there are reasons to be willing to allow myself to feel what I am feeling, there is a point that it can become counterproductive, and feed the very energy that is uncomfortable (the energy that I am holding onto to be "true to myself"). In my work as a coach, I tell people that even if you are fooling yourself - so what? If the focus you have is not getting you anywhere but depressed, why not fool yourself?
There are people that believe that whatever you focus on you get more of. If that is true, then changing the focus if it's something you'd rather be without would make sense, don'tja think? If it isn't true, then what do you have to lose, really?
The next time you go looking for some quality, consider that you already have it and that you just need to awaken your awareness to it. The amazing thing is that a little "water" (thought power) can go a long way.
But don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself, and see what happens. One word of warning though. The first times you do this, you may find that you go back where you were fairly easily. It's the comfortable and familiar after all. If that happens, it just means you'll have to do some considerable redirection. After awhile, though, you'll be surprised. You'll do less, and what you do do will get easier.
For this reason, you won't want to abandon ship quickly, and say it doesn't work. In my opinion, you will be doing yourself, and your life, an injustice.
Have a great weekend!
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