Dedicated to my wife who gave birth to our beautiful daughter twelve hours ago.
This topic expresses my mood at the moment, but it is actually a continuation of the ‘Help I am drowning under pressure series’. I intend to round up the series and I hope it would be of great benefit to you readers.
The quality of the life we live is based upon the learning we derive from our experiences. In first part of the series I highlighted a few tips to keep you afloat when facing pressures. They were learning to plan, remaining calm, and appreciating who you are.
In the last 12 hours we’ve been celebrating the arrival of our daughter. It’s been a wonderful experience seeing, touching, handling her, and also arguing on who she looks like. The day has been filled with so much excitement, highs/lows; her big brother has been running around uncontrollably with joy. There is extreme satisfaction celebrating the ‘joys of life’, particularly if you were drowning under pressure.
Our experience has been various hospital visits/sleepovers, different diagnosis, horrifying events and finally an operation but we look at our daughter beaming with smiles saying ‘she was worth fighting for.’
How did we get to this point?
My suggestions are as follows:
Is it worth fighting for?
There are some unnecessary struggles we face either cause by bad judgements, mistakes and some are results of our greed/being selfish. If it’s not worth fighting for, we need to put an end to it immediately. A lot of burdens would be easier to carry if we knew why they existed and their level of importance. Are the pressures we are drowning in worth fighting for? Can we do away with it and still live normal lives? These questions are answered when we’ve gone back to the drawing boards of our lives.
Build positive relationships:
We went through this journey with the help of friends, family, mentors, colleagues, church etc. being there for us when it was required. Sharing your experiences with a network of trusted friends would provide huge benefits, enhance your level of reasoning and expand your horizon. There are several approaches to resolving different issues and you can learn from the experience of others. I believe sound counsel could reduce stress levels and bring about happiness. Be around people you are accountable to, who won’t be afraid to speak up when you are going down the route of disaster.
Be Optimistic:
Optimism by definition is being positive about life. The glass is either half empty or half full. Drowning under pressure creates a lot of negativity, because we see no end in sight. There are obstacles/challenges we face as we journey through life, being negative will only ensure we keep circling round our feelings of doubt, low self esteem/ self worth and inadequacies. It won’t facilitate a change or positive development.
Think positively.
Be optimistic these events would create an experience which becomes useful in the learning process of life.
Take positive steps to bring about the desired outcome.
Have faith:
An excerpt from an article ‘5 steps to a happier life’ written by Dr Marla Sloane PHD, she states ’ I had the opportunity to interview many people throughout the years, and I found that the people, who were the happiest and most successful, were those who had a strong faith.’
My Christian faith will be talked about here. I believe in praying, worshipping, meditating and giving thanks to God. In difficult times it refreshes my spirit, soul, body and gives me hope for a better day ahead.
A reminder:The following are useful tips when are drowning under pressure
Learn to plan.
Stay calm.
Appreciate who you are.
Is it worth dying for?
Build positive relationships.
Be Optimistic
Have Faith.
Is there anyone who wants to celebrate the simple joys of life but is still screaming for help!!! because you are drowning under pressure?
Read the whole series again
Your comments will be appreciated.
Ayo Olaniyan is a certified Unitive Life Coach. He is also an Accredited Professional Counsellor with the Counselling Society.
If you would like to enquire about personal and professional one-to-one coaching sessions, or to invite me for a speaking engagement, please complete this form.
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Thank you fot this piece.It was right on. Congratulations on your baby girl.
From what I read, there is a amount of distinct relaxation and meditation technologies out there; brainwave entrainment, binuaral beats, isochronic tones, I think these can be of some use.
Thanks for this! I’ve been reading over at the Brainwave Entrainment Forums, and viewing this post was the perfect verification for much of the information I found out.