April showers bring May flowers but that’s not all that April brings; it also brings anxiety and stress as tax season comes to head. In our lives there are times when we feel taxed to the max. We feel taxed by life, people, and our jobs among other things. Taxation cause stress and a reduced quality of life.
I know full well about the taxation and stressors that life can bring. I am a business owner, author, educator and a full-time doctoral student. Sometimes I burn both ends of the candle to get things done. At times I have felt overwhelmed and unsure about the task or projects that I committed to and it took a toll on my body. My body began to hold on to the stress and eventually I was unable to cope with the daily cares of life. The rat race was on and I realized that I was not taking care of myself.
Although we all will experience a form of taxation during our lives, there are ways that we can overcome this heavy burden. Here are five ways to defeat being taxed.
- Take a Deep Breath, and then another one. Deep breathing supplies your body with oxygen which naturally relaxes you. This step allows you to center yourself and get your grounding. Here you are also shifting your focus from your situation to your breathing and what’s happening at the moment. Take as many slow, deep breaths as necessary to get yourself relaxed to a place that you are grounded and no longer focusing on what’s causing you anxiety.
- Focus on what truly matters. When we are taxed we oftentimes find ourselves focusing on our problems and we forget what’s truly important to us, and why we are in the predicament that we are in. It’s important to take the time to access your situation to remember why you started doing the tasks, associating with the people, or doing the job that is causing you stress. Once you put everything into perspective and really focus on what is important you can start to feel better about your situation and prioritize the tasks at hand. This will also allow you to gain a positive outlook on your situation.
- Take an active break. The great attack of taxation is that it overwhelms you and exponentially increases your stress. Take a break, step away from the situation and do something that you enjoy. Yes. Take a moment and walk away to gather and relax yourself. You are not productive in a situation where you are overwhelmed. Walking away and doing an activity that you actually enjoy will relax you and set you up to tackle the situation head on and refreshed.
- Say YES to help. Be open to help. Don’t be afraid to ask for and accept help. If you find yourself taxed to the max then chances are, you could use some help. Don’t allow ego and pride hold you back from getting to where you need to go; a place of freedom. You will experience a sweet relief once you receive help and see your mountain start to diminish.
- Relinquish Control. This step goes hand in hand with saying YES to help. Once you accept the fact that this situation, person, or task list has pushed you to your limit and maybe beyond, you can free yourself of high expectations. Accepting the fact that you couldn’t handle everything in the manner that you were operating and being ‘okay’ with that is a powerful thing. Releasing the weight, unburdening yourself with of pressure, and giving up the situation’s control over you is cathartic and freeing.
Although we may find ourselves Taxed to the Max, this is no time to give way to anxiety and stress. We have the power to free ourselves. We have the power to say no, to set boundaries, and to relinquish the situation’s control over us. We have the right to not be taxed, yet instead relish in April’s refreshing showers and look ahead towards May’s blooming flowers.