Archive for December, 2010

Three little words can change your life.

Now, let’s see. How about “The Oxygen Plan” (that’s three, right?) and “I love you” (another famous trio). What about, “I need some help (oxygen)”? Compared to “I need help (oxygen)”, the first two are rather easy, don’t you think? These examples may or may not intersect in your life, but they can and maybe they even should.

We live in a cyber-society and we all know how easy it is to let technology do our talking, our explaining; our communicating. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned, face-to-face? And, how come we assume we can do everything for ourselves and everybody else, without needing and accepting help somewhere along the line? When we lose sight of our individual selves and all the amazing, positive things we are, we become detached from the immediate reality that we are human and do not live in air-tight bubbles.
For us at The Oxygen Plan, in our green mindsets–and for you in yours—we’ve already said, “I need help dealing with the stress in my life” and The Oxygen Plan has come to the rescue! In fact, one of the most important things you’ll learn while using the Oxygen Plan, is to continually take stock (inventory, if you will) of the pieces of your life that work and of those that need help. The lasting gift of The Oxygen Plan is the one you give to yourself to gain control of your life and minimize or eliminate your personal stress issues so you can be the best you.

If people, places and things are sometimes or consistently yellow or red for you, asking for help to lessen their effects is a very healthy and green thing to do – the sooner the better. Seeking and obtaining help, most directly from the uplifting and invigorating green people, places and things in your life, will shorten the time it takes you to get back to your positive green self, with the least wear and tear on your “green-quilibrium”.

Realizing that maybe you need some help or assistance with any task in your life that causes you to worry, to procrastinate and feel overwhelmed, is the first step in lessening the stress you feel from the situation, itself. This self-discovery is empowering, not diminishing.

In asking for help, give yourself and the situation a simple reality check. The outcome may be brighter and greener than you think.
For instance, if you dread the whole moving scenario, but are determined to move all your worldly belongings from the country house you’ve lived in for 20 years, to a miniscule condo in the city, by yourself and make it all fit, chances are you can’t! When your green friends show up at your new place to help, what they’ll find is a very tired, dusty person, stuck in red or yellow mud!
A simple request for help—with a work project, preparing a meal for a house full of people, parenting; nursing sick kids or parents; on moving day; cleaning an attic, or merely asking a friend to sit down and listen to your problems— is often viewed by the “asker” as unnecessary or burdensome to those they ask. What is that saying to you about how you value yourself and the people close to you?
Fear of how others will respond to our requests for their time and energies often stop us dead in our tracks, placing us in a damaging yellow or red place. Conjuring in your head the possible scenarios about asking for help, especially from the green people you trust and who care about you, has to be one of the most stressful activities there is! Isn’t the task at hand stressful enough without piling on additional anxiety?

“I’m really putting an unrealistic burden on my friend to ask him to help me move”, is a common thought. Or, “If I ask my co-worker to look over the report I’ve done, she’ll avoid me like the plague in the future or just think I’m pretty stupid.” That’s a popular one, too. There’s a pattern here. Do you see it? In both cases, self-doubt clouds the probable positive outcome and convinces the individual that he or she is not worth the time or effort they require to progress from point A to point B. We’re not talking about a lifetime of aid and assistance, but our reactions make it seem that way.
Asking for help (oxygen) is not a sign of weakness. Rather, it is a healthy sign of clear-headedness, positive energy, direction, self-knowledge and strength of character.

Three little words can lessen your stress and paint your world very green. Please use them.

Posted in Living in the Green |