Stress & Socks

Yesterday, I noticed that we hadn't argued over socks for two weeks.

You see, my son is very particular about the comfort of his socks, and once they have been washed a fair few times, he gets annoyed about the bubbles rubbing his skin.

As socks are one of the last things to put on before heading to school, they often cause arguments as we try to find a somewhat matching comfortable pair...at the last minute.

To address this, I buy socks in bulk and keep them in a dedicated basket in the same cupboard as his shoes. I had updated the sock basket before the school season.

So, needless to say, by December, they were starting to look a bit worse for wear, and the sock hunt was becoming more ridiculous as Christmas approached.

When he opened his wrapped gift with a bundle of socks on Christmas morning, his comment was, "You don’t need to explain this one."

I rolled up the socks, put them into the basket, and went on with business.

Until yesterday...

I realised that the mornings were feeling a bit lighter since we hadn't had any arguments about his socks.

And here's how this parallels your well-being:

1. In order to realise that something has changed, we need to be aware of our baseline. You need to record how it was and then compare it to how it is now.

2. You need strategies in place that work for you and your situation. Sock basket might not be your cup of tea.

3. Well-being strategies are rarely big complicated things but simple daily actions done repeatedly.

And then one morning, you will realise that things have shifted: you have more energy, you are less reactive, you are smiling more, maybe your pants fit a bit looser.

Feel free to steal my strategy.