You live simpler. You live less stressed.

Health is found in many forms. True health is a compilation of what we choose to eat and drink. How we choose to move. How we find rest. But as equally key in this equation is the environment we live within and that which we surround ourselves with. It's an area of well-being often overlooked but one I believe deserves much more attention that it gets. It's understandable that we place emphasis on our genetics/family health history, the foods we eat or don't eat, the habits we may have as they relate to tobacco and alcohol consumption, our exercise tendencies, and the typical daily stressors we encounter as these are the focus areas our physicians and other health professionals emphasize and ask us to monitor, and rightly so. These all play critical roles in our overall health and hence, longevity.

But, what about those daily 'stressors'? Where does this stress come from? Does it originate from home or the workplace? And when I say 'from home', can we pinpoint the specific contributors? Perhaps from interactions with family members, finances, uncertainty about the future, responsibilities, the raising of children and young adults. All of these, areas we could spend hours discussing and looking for ways to improve upon and hone our approaches in. Areas that warrant their own individual time and effort in establishing goals and forward plans for, and in turn, finding success in.

However, for the purposes of this post, I'd like to focus on the actual 'home' itself and the factors that contribute to unnecessary, added stress. For years I've been acutely aware of the 'stuff' that can accumulate in life. And I've made a conscious effort to avoid being overwhelmed by this stuff. I've always had the neat-freak gene so I've just inherently kept stuff in check and have developed my own system of avoiding the 'collection' problem. With more stuff comes the opportunity for unnecessary accumulation, disorganization, a feeling of being overwhelmed and somewhat claustrophobic, frustration with not being able to find important items when necessary, and ultimately plain 'ol added stress.

Oftentimes, one doesn't even realize the impact this type of stess can have. It sort of goes unchecked, I refer to it as a type of 'stealth' stress as it comes in under the radar and isn't recognized as easily as other more traditional types of stress. And, typically, even if it is recognized, it's more easily pushed aside and avoided. But, eventually, it comes back and keeps coming back until it's finally dealt with to the tune of alot of time and effort.

When we look at taking steps to reduce general stress in our lives we look at things that aren't rocket science but rather simplistic things that are always the first to be forgotten or missed when our busy lives take over. But, the good news is that these steps are simple enough you can jump back onboard with a little effort and focus. And most often, it's not the steps that are hardest to maintain, it's getting started and getting started with a plan that can be maintained.

The following are steps I focus on with individuals as it pertains to initially getting stress under control:

1. Breathing-a return to the most basic thing we do but with an emphasis on the deep, diaphragmatic kind
2. Reduction of caffeine and alcohol-relax, I didn't say the elimination of, I said the reduction of....two very different things
3. An increase in water consumption-you've heard it over and over again, I know....you'd be surprised at the difference it can make
4. Saying 'no' on a regular basis-it's a tough one, but man, it's an amazing asset once you've gotten some practice in
5. R&R-no secret here
6. Getting back to who you are-oftentimes when we feel the stress level rising it can be attributed to the fact that we've lost touch to a certain extent with ourselves and when you've lost touch with yourself it can be difficult to understand why you feel the way you do

So what does the above have to do with 'home-stuff' stress? Plenty. When general stress continues to build and build and goes unchecked it begins to infiltrate other areas of your life. The proverbial 'snowball' effect kicks in and before you know it your living space starts to suffer and the power of 'abode overload' takes over.

When I coach individuals in creating a more ideal home environment we generally begin with recognizing and defining those things that are potentially adding to the overall stress level. Some things are easier to recognize than others and it's my role to help the individual discover some of those areas that may be impacting them in a negative way that might not be so easily recognizable. Once we've developed a clearer understanding of those areas we can formulate a plan forward for addressing them. Generally speaking, plans may focus on the recognition of those things most important in your life, taking inventory, the 'purging' of 'stuff' not needed, organization, simplification, re-design of a room or rooms, and the creation of a more inviting outdoor living space.

I'd like to touch on all of the above mentioned areas but we'll start with one for now and move to the others at a later time. I'm skipping the first two and moving to 'organization' since I did find a good read on this and it relates back to a few of the steps I listed earlier. Have a look and I'll continue with this topic very soon.