Ask Aunt B

Dear Aunt B,

I will retire in 5 months. I am so excited but I am really afraid that I won’t make it for 5 months. I am working so many hours. I am so exhausted. I hate my work. I feel like I can barely hold on. What should I do?

Not soon enough

Dear Not soon enough,

Only you know if you can hold on or not. It does not sound good what you are going through. If you truly have no other options than to hold out the 5 months, you have to change your attitude. You have to take control of yourself.

Five months of subjecting your body to the stress you are talking about will have consequences that do not serve you well. The hormones that you are flooding in your body will do damage, that is for sure. I promise in the right frame of mind you can accomplish more in less time than when you are living under the stress you described. So what do you do? Take this as your mission: to finish strong and do it in a healthy way.

Every hour on the hour, stand up and stretch your body. Also take that time to do some deep breaths. When we are stressed our breathing becomes almost nonexistent. This tells the body we are under attack, again flooding stress hormones. So pay attention to your breath. When you notice you are holding your breath, stop and breathe. Sounds simple, right? But most of us don’t breathe very well.

Make sure you are eating healthy foods. Limit your sugar intake. Again it is easy to tell yourself you deserve reward for sticking out this time, but sugar is not a re ward and inflames your body.

Drink lots of filtered water. I save my glass bottles when I get a drink in glass. I sterilize them in the dishwasher once I have used them and refill them with fresh water. It is also a good idea to put some lemon in your water. If you don’t like the taste of water, add some fruit (not fruit juice).

Do some form of exercise. There is possibly some of your work that you can do while walking in place. Start small if you have to, but do something.

Listen to some instrumental music while you work if possible.

Do something you enjoy everyday. I get it you don’t think you have any time. This is usually not true.

By far the most important thing you need to do lies between your ears. You must get ahold of the thoughts you are thinking. When you find yourself telling yourself that you are miserable, STOP. Those thoughts are doing you no good and are really impeding your mission to survive and thrive during these next 5 months. Everytime I tell myself I am miserable and have no control, my mind searches for more reasons to make it true. Have some positive statements that you say on a regular basis, many times a day.

I am on a mission.

I am a survivor.

I accomplish much.

I am working on a great new future.

I am enough.

I am doing a great job.

There is something great right around the corner.

Always helps to do a gratitude practice daily. More good things happen when you take time to appreciate the good things you already experience.

Love, Aunt B

If you would like to send Aunt B a question please email your question to news@forneymessenger. com.