Frustration is like a low electrical hum that permeates your entire being. It seems like every time things start progressing and you’re really feeling good about your efforts, something — or perhaps a bunch of little things — gets thrown into the path to distract you or make you stumble. You know what I’m talking about.

• Job frustrations. Those days when nothing seems to go smoothly and you’re mentally exhausted long before 5 o’clock.
• You didn’t meal prep and ended up eating poorly all week. Ohhh the guilt.
• The static cling in your clothes made you look as if you had been vacuum sealed. >sigh< It wasn’t pretty.
• You’re sure you got a record number of spam phone calls this week. Can’t they make a phone that blocks ALL the callers who aren’t on your contacts list?
• The card reader at the gas pump was iced over. That was a first.
• The potholes on your route to work have multiplied, expanded, and gotten deep enough to do the backstroke in. And everyone driving in both directions are trying to travel on the one narrow center strip of road.
• How about the persistent spring snowstorms this year? You know you should be enjoying mild spring weather, driving with your window down, but instead you have it in 4 wheel drive and are valiantly trying not to slide off the road.

Taken singly these things really aren’t much. However, it all adds up when you aren’t paying attention. You may be tired from a restless night and one thing after another piles onto your shoulders throughout the day. 

So what do you do to decompress at the end of the day? Cocktail hour? Commiserate with a friend or your spouse? Meditate? Or just plain turn your back on it all and enjoy your evening? Personally, I like to come home at the end of the day and get a big hug from my husband. There’s just nothing better than that. Then I turn my back on it and leave it behind me. Tomorrow is a new day and the eternal optimist in me knows it will be a much better day.

We all have our own ways of dealing with our stresses. And isn’t it nice when you finally feel that electrical frustration vibration leaking out of your body and your mind. You may feel drained afterwards but it’s still a relief. You may even get a ‘second wind’ and have a  fantastic finish to your day. The important thing is: you made it and you are stronger for it. Yes you are. Think about that. 

Each and every day that you have gotten through whatever cropped up and learned from it— no matter how insignificant it seems to you in the bigger scheme of things— you have become stronger and smarter.

You might have guessed that I dealt with all the things above this week and much, much more. The cherry on top of this story happened today when we went to a nearby town to do our grocery shopping and get some lunch. We sat down in the booth in the restaurant and ordered our meal. As we were enjoying our tea and ice water the waitress came over to tell us that the sprinkler system had activated in the kitchen. All the chemical fire retardant had sprayed the entire kitchen, including the fry-o-lators, and ruined the food. They didn’t know how long it would be before they were up and running again. And the kicker: our meal was almost ready to bring out. We were polite and reassured her that it wasn’t her fault and we would go back another time. This was actually more funny than frustrating, even though we had not eaten breakfast and were hungry. 

What I took away from this week was that I need to remember to use my de-stressing tools when necessary. For me this is not only the husband-hug, but it’s also taking a quiet moment to recognize that whatever the stressor is, it’s just a small blip in the bigger picture. Taking a step back and adjusting the view is very effective. Other tools that I like to use are getting out and walking or working in the yard and garden. It’s been a tough spring here so I haven’t been able to employ those tools much, but it’s getting warmer and the snow is melting away so I expect to do these things daily very soon. Another tool in my wellness toolbox that didn’t get used last week was meal prepping. I didn’t do it and it had a bigger effect on me than I expected. I learned a valuable lesson from that. 

At the end of Wellness week 6 I am stronger and smarter. Even though the week felt like an epic failure to me I recognize that I learned a lot. I will use this as motivation to move forward. What did you learn from your week?  👩🏻‍💻