For many people, February is the time of year when some of us, well… stagnate. Things around us just seem to slow down or run on auto pilot after the holidays pass; after the snow begins to melt (or clobber us, again), after people prepare their income taxes and learn they may have had more money last year and will have even less of it after they pay Uncle Sam, this year! Business activity and expenditures generally decline or tighten. Personal or household purchases may be limited. For many, February is a time of hibernation — at home, at work and socially.
Think back, for a moment, about your February, 2011. What green people, places and things have graced your life in the preceding 4 weeks?
- Did you spend the kind of green quality time with friends and family that renew and refresh you?
- Did you bring your partner flowers, for no reason at all, or spend lots of quality time with a child child?
- Did you change your scenery and sensory intake with short weekend trips or even go on a major vacation or take a cruise to some idyllic island paradise?
- Did you rediscover the timeless thrill of going to your favorite art or history museum?
- Did you run into an old friend and enjoy a cup of hot, freshly-brewed coffee together and catch up on old times?
- Or, did you take a vacation of the mind?
- Did you stock up on the books and magazines and lose yourself in some fantastic plot?
- Did you visit Italy by faithfully watching the Food Channel and by grabbing some incredible recipes that will really impress your guests?
- Did you create a scrapbook of an extra special event?
- Did you take painting lessons and produce a masterpiece?
- Did you do something good for someone else, like volunteering to read to kids at the local library; joining a theatre group (not all the jobs are onstage and every theatre company always needs help behind the scenes!) to usher or help build sets?
Doing something for someone who can’t do it themselves or who, perhaps, have never been exposed to certain kindnesses, makes the worth of our green deeds so amazingly high, for both parties!
Helping out at the local animal shelter will fill you with more green experiences, than you ever can imagine. Who doesn’t melt when an innocent little puppy licks your face and touches your heart?
In Freetown, Massachusetts, for example, the "Save Skippy" campaign is underway to rescue Skippy, a young golden retriever, who is at the center of an "owner neglect" issue. People from around the country and even Canada have expressed interest in fostering or adopting Skippy, as their own. This outpouring of concern and kind offers humble those involved and those who follow the story. Advocating for a living creature that cannot participate in his own fate is probably one of the most selflessly green things a person can do.
This particular story, in fact, shows people like you and me, reacting to an individual’s (the owner’s) very RED behavior by providing a very GREEN solution. Here, quite simply, is The Oxygen Plan, at work. The benefits of the plan, when applied to a very simple life situation such as this, are crystal clear, self-identifying and there, for the taking.
While you’re at it, give a quick look back at your year. What were the highs? What were the lows? Like Journaling, looking back at the big picture — or a solid year’s worth of activities and developments — gives us enough distance to see patterns, categories, actions and decisions regarding stressful issues and the strategies we used to deal with them — successfully or unsuccessfully.
Remember, that whatever you did to fill your month 02 with 02 can be repeated again and again!
You know you’re dying to do it, SO JUST DO IT!
Sweep back those depressing room-darkening, awful-ugly insulated curtains!
Pull up those noisy, plastic mini-blinds, revel in the clickety-clacking sound they make and lock the cord in place!
Give a good serious I-mean-business tug to the bottom of the window shade, let it go, and squeal at the whirring racket it makes when it hits the top of the window sash! (Sure beats an alarm clock.)
Unsnap those heavy window locks, press your face to the glass and feast your eyes on winter’s departure.
Here’s the best part. Push the windows way up!
Stick you head outside and inhale the first joyful, rejuvenating breath of spring! The branches of a tree may rustle or hum in the breeze or a mother bird may be disciplining her brood at the top of her lungs. Enjoy it. This spring thing can turn out to be a symphony of sensory delights! Thank you, Mother Nature!
But what took you so long?
Actually, Mother Nature has been faithfully doing her job all year ‘round — even if she has been a little heavy-handed in the snow department. (‘Must have been a bargain on it, wherever she shops.)
More to the point, maybe our own issues of sameness and habit; boredom, and unchanging, locked-tight thinking, have caused us to weigh ourselves down in stressful situations that repeat and continue — not the snow and ice. Come out of hibernation!
One of the beauties of the premise and application of the Oxygen Plan, from its inception, has been its ability to be absorbed and worked by anyone at any time. No matter what seasons we weather – literally or figuratively — the creation of our Personal Oxygen Plan is always possible and adaptable to changing lifestyles; thought and behavior patterns and the passage of time.
There’s nothing better than breathing in oxygen-fresh air — or re-establishing new ways to give and get oxygen which revitalizes our bodies, our minds, our psyches, our physical environments and our relationships.
The mere physical act of doing something small — like opening a window and changing the stagnant air and indoor atmosphere of a brutally cold and snowy winter, for example— is a very GREEN action. It’s positive, it’s healthy; it promotes change or, in our vernacular, it’s like CLEANING HO2USE to make it stress-proof!
The mental spark that prompts us to look at stress in our lives and put helpful programs to work to reduce it, goes hand-in-hand with the physical activities we undertake.
Taking an ongoing inventory of the people, places and things that are YELLOW (or, worse RED) for us; categorizing them, setting rules to toss them away or deal with them less stressfully and, finally, repeating the process, with individual comfort and ease, yields the same results as opening a window, as wide and as high as you can, and taking in healing oxygen to live in the GREEN.
Following and reviewing the four steps of the Oxygen Plan (Inventory, Categorize, Set Rules and Repeat) may already come together quickly for you, or you may choose to seasonally revisit each step and re-personalize them, anew. Compare this thinking to laundering your existing spring curtains or buying brand new ones! Either way, the decision and choices are downright GREEN.
On the first balmy day of a new season, be inspired to configure a way to limit and eventually eliminate contact with a RED person, place or thing by finding a GREEN person, place or thing to replace it/them with. You may love your aerobic workout sessions at the gym, but you’re not crazy about the instructor. Could you go on days when someone else leads the group?
You love your aunt Hilda, but she’s become accustomed to cooking supper for you at her house, once a week. What might have been a fun evening, once in a while, has become a weekly duty. Depending on how YELLOW this situation may be for you, you can replace this routine with a GREEN dinner activity, like volunteering at a local food pantry, where you can give and get more oxygen.
Now’s the time to air out all the possibilities!
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.
The October Report on the New Health Metric by The Oxygen Plan
Posted on November 30th, 2010 by Eric LucasCheck out our Press Release regarding The October Report on the New Health Metric by The Oxygen Plan.
Click Here to view the article.
The Oxygen Plan: Development, Web Statistics & Stress Test Results: Making Sense of It All
Posted on November 30th, 2010 by Donald WilliamsAt the Oxygen Plan, we pride ourselves in taking a data-based approach to our work. This means The Oxygen Plan is grounded firmly in the behavioral scientific literature. For example, the Stress Test itself is based on generally accepted principles that classify stress into three important areas of our lives: home, work and social. The questions themselves are designed accordingly, providing valid and useful information in each sphere of our lives. The modules of The Oxygen Plan itself “Taking Inventory, Categorizing, Setting Rules & Repeat” are based on the strengths of relevant theories of health behavior change (Stages of Change, Health Belief Model, Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior Model, Social Learning/Social Cognitive Theory (includes Health Locus of Control and Ecological Approaches) to provide an elegant simplicity to helping people change their behavior and their lives in – meaningful and sustainable ways. Because The Oxygen Plan is derived from the strengths of relevant health behavior theories, it has an innate Emotional Intelligence that guides plan users to the meaningful and sustainable changes in their lives without unnecessary words, steps or complexity. By taking inventory and categorizing behaviors as red (carbon monoxide), yellow (carbon dioxide) or green (oxygen), plan uses innately know what to do: eliminate red, problem solve yellow, and go get and give more green! This patent-pending approach works!
How do we know? To date, well over 30,000 people have taken our stress test. The aggregate results of these stress tests in our ongoing study of Stress in America (see press room) suggests that there continues to be a tremendous amount of stress in our society and in our relationships, taking a huge toll on our health, relationships, and our economy. Never before has it been possible to measure, compute, report, trend or aggregate a stress metric as it relates to personal health or organizational cost. Now, we are able to assess stress, calculate the Stress Number™, provide The Oxygen Plan program and re-measure stress for individuals or organizations. ‘The Stress Number™ is a significant development in the field of health metrics. We feel the Stress Number™ should be used to help individuals and organizations manage health and health care costs just like blood pressure and cholesterol levels, for examples.
How else do we know? As we study our web statistics and compare them to other popular health care sites, The Oxygen Plan performs! Looking at the average amount of time visitors stay on The Oxygen Plan site, we see plan users staying with us for approximately 8:47 while other sites average 7:29 (WebMD), 6:41 (360-5) and 5:54 (MayoClinic.com). On average, Oxygen Plan users view over 24 pages per visit while other sites average fewer than six pages per visit.
Stay tuned for more as we continue to develop The Oxygen Plan. We look forward to providing you more in the way of data-based support for using O2 as the means of helping individuals make meaningful and sustainable behavior change while supporting organizations derive the financial and cultural benefits of a healthier and happier work force.
As much as we at The Oxygen Plan sincerely wish all of you the happiest and greenest of holidays, the message really wouldn’t be authentically “oxygenized” if we didn’t address the fact that for a lot of people, the holidays aren’t always full of jingle bells, gingerbread angels, or maybe not even goodwill to all!
The one major way of not repeating stressful holidays of the past is to leave “yesteryear” behind; look toward the future and enjoy the present for all the new, green opportunities it holds! Like the new, best you, each season is different and can be enjoyed for and by itself, in its own way or by doing something really new. Change your pattern or change your surroundings. Don’t sabotage your green efforts by comparing the experience of a new holiday with past ones.
Here are some additional green, oxygen-infused ways of thinking about the holidays:
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Set realistic goals and expectations to keep the holidays “manageable”. Pace yourself and prioritize your time and activities so they don’t occur all at once and stress you out!
Do something nice for someone else. Volunteering, if only for short periods of time, takes the edge off feeling overwhelmed by the bustle of the holidays.
Enjoy things that are free! Window shopping can still satisfy your wardrobe fantasies; taking a drive through town to see holiday decorations can be very relaxing—and funny (especially if your neighbor piles every single holiday figure in creation on his front lawn); help a child make a snowman (if it doesn’t snow, make one out of white trash bags and suspend it from a tree branch!), go caroling or invite the local carolers to stop at your home.
Spend time with supportive, caring green people. Draw your closest people even closer; cultivate new friends from work or school; let old friends know you haven’t forgotten them and value the memories you made together.
Save time for you! If you’re at the center of your family holiday preparations, delegate tasks for others. Now is the time to let your Oxygen Plan life rules, rule! You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
It’s also okay to feel blue or pressured if the holidays have this effect on you. Never fear! The rules you’ve set in your Daily Oxygen Action Plan will take care of those feelings, because you’ve already created successful ways to deal with them!
On this Thanksgiving, we are thankful for the opportunity to share the concepts of The Oxygen Plan with so many of you; and may your winter holidays and New Year be green with health, happiness and prosperity.
The September Report on the New Health Metric by The Oxygen Plan
Posted on October 5th, 2010 by Eric LucasCheck out our Press Release regarding The September Report on the New Health Metric by The Oxygen Plan
Click Here to view the article.
The Oxygen Plan featured on prweb.com
Posted on September 29th, 2010 by Eric LucasCheck out our Press Release regarding The New Health Metric: The Stress Number™
Click Here to view the article.
What makes counting sheep so conducive to sleep? Why not hedgehogs or wombats? It’s in the droning, the counting, of course? Unless you feel sorry for the soft, adorable, little balls of wool you have recruited to jump the fence, one by one; in which case, you’ll stay awake to make sure they don’t trip and fall.
As you work through The Oxygen Plan, remember that sleeping is a green activity; as O2 loaded as it can get, and is just as important as taking care of your physical and mental health, in your waking hours. However, if you do suffer from insomnia, your mind may be signaling the need for a better way (more Oxygen-infused experiences) to juggle the people, places and things in your life that all seem to come alive, with the stress they bring, when your head hits the pillow! Chasing the red, CO (carbon monoxide) monster every night is exhausting and is in sharp contrast to the kind of natural fatigue that precedes deep sleep.
Adversely, too much sleep can be as harmful as too little sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic, oversleeping on a regular basis can lead to depression, weight gain and a variety of other health problems. These results may be the yellow issues, representing harmful CO2 or carbon dioxide experiences, in a bad sleeper’s night. The right balance and subsequent actions can kick a yellow experience into a sublime green one, when you compare the effects of your daily physical and mental activities with the amount and kind of sleep you need. The quality, or kind of sleep you need, is just as important as how long you sleep. Sleep apnea, for example, causes people to wake up frequently, preventing deep and refreshing sleep. According to experts, if you cannot fall and stay asleep within 15 to 20 minutes after you lie down in bed, getting up and/or leaving the bedroom to do something else that relaxes you, is good advice. Sleep will come when we are tired enough.
Sleep is a peacefully private activity, restful and rejuvenating, and plays an important role in your mental and physical health, as it lets your body rest and your brain recharge after each day is over. It is nature’s way of putting the cares of the day aside as it prepares us to welcome the next day, alert and refreshed. The number of hours of sleep you need generally depends on your age and can vary from person to person. According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, people who consistently get enough sleep have a stronger immune system and are less likely to get sick. When we sleep, our bodies produce proteins called cytokines. These proteins help fight infections; higher levels enable us to better fight off infection and illness. These proteins also enhance mental and physical energy and better memories.
As one works through The Oxygen Plan, it’s not uncommon to concentrate on the stressful people, places and things we encounter daily or frequently, when we are wide awake at work and/or play. It’s also not uncommon for personal stressors to suddenly seem to loom larger than ever when our brains are trying to put us to sleep! Diverting our thoughts or developing new ways of dealing with sleeplessness and its causes, can be aided by the steps of The Oxygen Plan. Examining something so easily taken for granted as the need to sleep, can be added to the mix of seeking those positive choices that enhance the best of who we are and the “greenest” we can be — asleep or awake.
A recent article appeared on MSN.com, originally posted on Caring.com about stress and your heart. The article is entitled: “Is Stress Sabotaging Your Heart”? It reviews two recent studies looking at work-stress and hours worked and heart health and the sort answer to the title/question is a resounding “YES.”
Take a look and see: Click Here
No surprise, as stress has been known to be an independent risk factor for heart disease for quite some time. Back in the late 1980′s and 1990′s, stress and heart disease were first linked using descriptions of the “Type A personality”. Individuals, it was thought, who were hard driving, competitive and goal oriented were found to have a higher risk and rate of heart disease. Later, researches found that one component of the Type A personality was largely responsible for the increased risk: hostility or unexpressed anger. Still later, a study I had the privilege of being involved in documented for the first time that stress was also an independent risk factor in heart disease. That study found that increased stress was not only associated with increase heart disease risk but with increased health care costs as well.
What these new reports tell us is that stress specific to work is yet another aspect of stress that we as individuals need to attend to. In the bigger picture, it is anther deadly reason for employers to attend to work-place stress. As productivity demands increase and as health care costs continue to soar, we can’t afford to ignore stress.
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