Corporate Rat Race: 7 Good Reasons To Escape

Is your 9-to-5 feeling more like a 9-to-9 (24/7) in your life? Where your work is almost constantly on your mind, even when you don't try to think about it? Do you hate your job, but fear for financial uncertainty is far too great to risk making a move? A life of purpose doesn't have to be a fantasy or a cliché saying that only applies to the lucky few. Just anyone can escape the corporate rat race, assuming you believe in what you want and you believe in your worth!

The first step to quitting the rat race is realising that it is possible and that a better life is worth taking the risk; you just need to prepare yourself for the move. Here are some reasons why:

Stress

Of course, this is the most obvious reason to leave the perpetual corporate rat race. Your entire day is stressful, with few exceptions. You might even like what you do at your job, but if your mind is constantly thinking about what you'd rather be doing or who you'd rather be working with, for example, that job will always be a dead-end in your journey in life.

Health

Along with your mental health, stress will affect your physical health, even if it doesn't appear obvious on the outside. If your job is making you exhausted every day you're on the clock, this is a reason for you to start looking right now for a new career, one that isn't sacrificing your health for your success. America is the most overworked society in the world, by every major metric, you are not alone in this!

Excess

When your job is forcing you in one direction of conformity, it is only natural that people will seek to balance that out with self-healing in forms of pleasure and entertainment. There is no judgement here, however, it is far too common for these things to turn into vices that overcompensate the imbalance in life, leading to a life in excess that is hard to get out of.

Time

Part of the reason why people feel like they are locked in this perpetual 'corporate rat race' is that no matter how hard they try or how efficient they are, there never seems to be enough time in the day. Deadlines dictate your state of mind, even when you're away from work. This type of bi-polar relationship with time is not healthy, and it is also abnormal, despite what the rat race industry tells us.

Purpose

Money is important, no one is going to argue that it isn't, but it isn't everything. When you first enter the corporate workforce, money brings you so much happiness, it becomes enough of a motivator to ignore the rat race and normalize it as a 'good' life. As you get older and you stay running forward, while in the same place you were years ago, the money isn't as good as it was before. You finally realise that you are working harder and trading more and more time for money. Whether due to a weaker economy or a bigger appetite for success, the purpose of your job has outlived itself, and now you need to move onto something better. Suddenly, you don't feel fulfilled anymore with the corporate rat race lifestyle.

Cycles

This ties into purpose, where the very definition of a 'rat race' is that there is no ending. You'll just keep completing work with the same feedback loops until you're stuck in a zombie-like trance for 8 hours each day. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to break this cycle.

Confidence

Last, but not least is the real reason why you should begin to think of alternatives to this rate race when you know that you are better and have far much worth than this job that is pulling you down. You probably spend hours thinking about other careers or ways to start up your own business, but don't trivialize those ideas and throw them away. Sit down and figure out the steps you need to take to make them a reality.

When the student is ready, the teacher will always appear. The moment you realize your innate beauty, your capacity and your worth are far more than what is being printed as your hourly rate on your bi-weekly or monthly payslips, the doors will open to a world of opportunities for you to embrace.

I am Madevi Andee and I have embraced the opportunities presented by the Digital Economy to change my lifestyle from a corporate rat race to that of freedom: Money and Time Freedom, where I work on my own terms, doing things I love and with people I love. It all starts with the creation of money because money creates choices and choices lead to freedom. If like me, you believe that freedom cannot be earned in a corporate rate race, then join me on my odyssey and learn the system that has created the first step to my freedom.

Let's connect [http://www.brainbeautyandmoney.com/digital-system/]

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Madevi_Andee/2272835



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9394262

The Pains of Progress - Why Change is Hard

Six More Quick Tips to Reduce Stress

Stress affects us all in different ways at different times, to different degrees and for different reasons. It could be something relatively trivial or due to a more significant cause. Either way, it is important to try to reduce stress otherwise it can get out of control and affect your health. Here are six quick tips which can help to reduce and manage stress. I hope you find them useful.

Tip 1: Have a You Day

This may sound obvious - we all need some alone time for ourselves to try to get away from things for a while.

Life is tough enough with all the demands it places on us which in turn can cause stress as life gets on top of us.

Make a conscious effort to split yourself of some time for YOU.

No distractions, turn off the laptop, turn off the mobile - your you time is for YOU - nobody else.

Then do whatever you feel like doing that makes you feel happy and less stressed.

That might be reading a book, listening to your favourite music, generally chilling out.

Find the time to switch off for a while and you'll feel better for it.

Tip 2: Your Happy Place

Another quick stress reduction tip is when the going gets tough to imagine yourself in your happy place.

We've all got one (or perhaps more than one) - imagine you are there and how it makes you feel.

This is sometimes known as guided imagery and has been around for hundreds of years.

If you want to get in to it seriously there are guided imagery therapists and practitioners you could see.

Or you can buy up guided imagery books and CDs.

And of course there's good old YouTube for videos.

Guided imagery goes hand-in-hand with meditation which is another technique to help with stress reduction and management.

Tip 3: Clean and De-Clutter

A clean and tidy home (silly as it may sound) can help with stress reduction and management.

Sift through everything you have and identify what you do need/has value to you and what does not - be brutal - what can you live without.

Anything you can live without or no longer need you may be able to sell online or donate to charity.

Next clean the house - not necessarily all in one go (you can if you want to of course) - perhaps a room at a time.

Just the exercise involved in cleaning will stimulate hormones which help to make you feel good.

To help pass the time whilst you clean put on your favourite CD.

A clean and tidy home makes you feel better too doesn't it?

Tip 4: Digital De-Clutter

Now you have de-cluttered and cleaned the house, it's time to do the same for your digital life.

Emails, social media, the pressure for instant replies, more likes, more Twitter followers and keeping on top of all that can be stressful in itself - right?

So have a digital clean up and de-clutter.

Remove yourself from email lists you do not need to be on.

Turn off notifications, alters and similar which you do not need.

Set aside specific times of the day to check your emails instead of constantly (may not apply to work emails of course).

And turn everything off (or at least on silent) before bedtime because you don't need to be awoken throughout the night with emails pinging in and social media alters popping up.

Tip #5: Relaxing Sounds

This stress reduction tip ties in with the happy place tip we looked at earlier.

The right sort of sound can help you to relax and de-stress.

Just like closing your eyes and going to your happy place, listening to a relaxing sound for a while can have the same effect.

It might be bird song, waterfalls, gentle waves breaking, whale song and similar - whatever works for you.

Any number of relaxation sound CDs, streaming and downloads available everywhere.

Plug yourself in, listen, relax and feel the stress leave you.

Tip #6: Meditate

A spot of meditation can help tremendously with stress reduction and your state of mind in general.

This can be a simple as sitting down, clearing your mind and doing some repeated deep breathing.

In for four seconds to fill your lungs, hold, breathe out slowly and repeat for a few minutes.

Not unlike being in your happy place we touched on earlier.

If you fancy getting in to meditation and you have a smartphone there are any number of meditation apps to download.

And of course any number of books, videos etc.

In addition to helping reduce stress, meditation can help with anxiety depression and high blood pressure.

Start now. Take some action. One step at a time. Do not procrastinate

There is no right or wrong order in which to try these stress reduction tips. See which work for you.

You may be interested to explore stress reduction techniques further in more depth. To do that, here is a video course containing nine stress reduction action plan s. It is available on Skillshare and you can access it today by clicking here.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Andy_Machin/16946



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10284733

Feeling Anxious? Then 'Watch' the News!

The human nervous system hasn't changed very much over the last million years. Its purpose is to keep us safe and help us survive; that means looking out for threat and risks that might lead to our demise or cause us harm. Naturally, like other animals, this 'alert' nervous system is crucial to our survival and keeps us scanning for potential danger.

Humans have developed the cognitive ability to use words, language and analysis to make sense of and communicate risk to one another efficiently. Humans can convey these messages about threat or danger with convincing and rich emotional content to highlight their relevance and importance. This superior intellectual ability has allowed humans to prosper and survive by organising communities, achieving social tasks, collaborating and problem-solving.

While living in tribal groups and small communities, our ancestors relied upon this ability to communicate warnings and risks to members of the tribe or community. A danger at the waterhole, poisonous berries, a lurking predator or an invading tribe were all risks that posed an immediate and relevant threat to each member of that tribe. Our nervous system is primed to be alert to such urgent warnings, especially when high emotion is present to convey urgency. Those who failed to attend would face danger and threat to their survival.

Community leaders throughout history disseminated relevant and important information for survival - the Town Crier and Pastors at churches became trusted 'news' bearers delivering information about community illness and death such as the Plague. Humans have learnt to pay attention when an announcement is made and our nervous systems are primed to do so!

The New Era

A lot has changed in the world since the invention of television, telephones and computers. The world is not constrained by geographical borders and tribal word-of-mouth communication. The millennial world features expansive social media influences with 24-hour news broadcasts, news updates to every device, news from every corner of the world, breakfast news, morning news, midday news, afternoon news, early evening news, late night news, and even news updates between the news!

If you are feeling overwhelmed just by reading that, it's obvious what the actual content of all this news is doing to our nervous systems. Physical arousal and stress are triggered by our nervous system's response to announcements and news that goes straight back to our primal need to survive and not necessarily because there is an actual and present threat to our safety.

Understanding the science of this can help us manage our responses to the world's events and to make decisions about protecting our nervous system.

We are inundated with announcements and information that are neither relevant nor an immediate threat to us individually. In doing its job well, the nervous system innocently attends to irrelevant messages, believing all news must be relevant and require urgent attention. In fact, reacting to information regarding a five-car pile-up on an icy motorway on the other side of the world has no immediate survival benefit to us.

While broader lessons can be learnt from the general information, this information can be used and conveyed in more considered and less dramatic ways to improve our society and keep us safe. The way in which this information is conveyed in the news is much more likely to trigger unnecessary and involuntary stress responses.

Tips to Look After Yourself in this World of Frantic News

1. Limit your exposure to all news media - TV, radio, newspapers, social media.
2. Limit the number of news organisations you follow on social media and notifications you receive.
3. Observe and calm your response when you hear the 'news music' or 'breaking news' sound effects.
4. Keep an eye on how many stories are being fed to you throughout your day on electronic devices while you are trying to focus on work, socialising or other meaningful tasks.
5. Try to listen to less hyped and dramatic versions of the news.
6. Follow the local news that is likely to be more relevant to your daily life.
7. Be more aware of the emotional content of programs you watch and their impact on your mood, nervous system and thinking. Does it feel like more relevant information conveyed calmly and factually or does it feel more hyped, dramatic and irrelevant to your immediate world?

More resources about anxiety and stress management:

First Aid for Stress: https://www.brisbanecitypsychologist.com.au/first-aid-for-stress/

What to Do When You Are Feeling Overwhelmed: https://www.brisbanecitypsychologist.com.au/what-to-do-when-you-are-feeling-overwhelmed/

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Cherie_Dalton/256515

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9967886

Dealing With Stress