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Just Chill
by Steve Goodier
An Appalachian folk story tells of two friends who went coon hunting. They treed
a coon but could not get him down. So one decided he'd climb the tree and shake
the coon loose. To his surprise, he found it wasn’t a coon at all, but a
wildcat.
In a little while, his friend heard an awful commotion up in the tree. Then he
heard a voice screaming down at him, "Help! Help!
What’ll I do?
Just shoot up here amongst us, his friend said. One of us has got to have some
relief.
Does your life ever feel like you’re wrestling with a wildcat and somehow,
somewhere, you have to get some relief? If so, you’re not alone.
Psychologist Richard Wiseman asserts that people actually need more relief now
than ever before. We are living more stressful, faster-paced lives than ever. He
cites the results of an international study conducted in collaboration with the
British Council to measure the speed of life.
The experiment was conducted by researchers who secretly timed how fast
thousands of pedestrians walked in city centers across the globe, including
London, Madrid, Singapore and New York. Granted, this is not the most scientific
experiment, but it is fascinating nevertheless.
Prof. Richard Wiseman says, This simple measurement provides a significant
insight into the physical and social health of a city. Where do the fastest
walkers live? In order of speed, they are found in Singapore (Singapore),
Copenhagen (Denmark), Madrid (Spain), Guangzhou (China) and Dublin (Ireland).
According to this study, we live about 10% faster now than twenty years ago,
when a similar experiment was conducted. The biggest changes are found in and
around Asia, where the pace of life in Guangzhou (China) increased by over 20%
and where Singapore showed a 30% increase.
A common American expression is, Chill. Are you anxious and
uptight? Chill. Need to de-stress? Just take it easy? Chill.
Chilling is pretty good advice, actually. Especially if the word chill is
spelled this way:
C - Calm down. When you’re anxious, frenzied or pressed, stop.
Take a deep breath and ask yourself, Why?
H - Hold back. Set a reasonable pace. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. If you
want to last, pace yourself. And take time to rest.
I - Indulge your desire for fun. Do something fun everyday and try to put fun in
your usual activities.
L - Learn how to just be. You already know how to DO. Take time to BE. Don’t
measure your life by what you accomplish, but by who you are. Be present. Be
attentive. But be.
L - Let it go. You are not responsible for everything and
everybody. In the immortal words of poet Robert Browning, God's in His Heaven;
all's right with the world. You don’t have to do it all yourself; you don’t have
to do it all right now. And some of it you may not have to do at all.
You may feel like you’re wrestling with a wildcat. Or maybe you just feel as if
you’re living too fast. But if you need some relief, chill is a good word to
remember. Spell it right and you just might get something you don’t expect.
Happiness.
Steve Goodier Publisher@LifeSupportSystem.com is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site
for more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of
Life, Love and Laughter at
http://LifeSupportSystem.com |