My line of work is high stress.
There are a lot of moving parts, people, party’s, and all the politics that entails.
Having been through four elections (two municipal and two provincial) and five years at the Central Saanich Council table, I have undergone a certain amount of stress-testing.
But, arriving on the British Columbia political scene in 2017 introduced a whole other level of tension. That tension is good, and my posts about the Speaker’s report and money-laundering this weekend, were very popular. It is the tension that has allowed us to begin to shine light on some of the rot that has been festering for years.
“You look so old now daddy!”
Stress is not good for anyone. It has a way of shortening life.
Even when a politician enters the Legislative Assembly in a majority government, you can watch them visibly age in front of you.
Ella climbed on my lap a few weeks back and started to point out the white hair in my goatee.
“You look so old now daddy!” She said.
Many of those white hairs have been earned in the last 20 months.
I have always believed that when you are doing this job right, you feel the pressure and it is a burden. If this job is easy, then you are taking it for granted.
Om….. meditation and mindfulness
Finding effective coping mechanisms is really important. My morning walks have featured regularly in this ongoing narrative. It was the start of a new journey of health and wellbeing. Another solid addition to the de-stressing toolkit is meditation.
Working our way through a couple of issues last year, particularly the speculation and vacancy tax, was exceptionally difficult. And, exploding was not an option.
So, I added an app to my phone called Insight Timer and started doing some of the free guided meditations.
Throughout the fall, and increasingly this winter, instead of exploding, I’ve been exploring meditation and mindfulness. More recently, Sam Harris’ “Waking Up” courses have guided the way.
If it wasn’t a life-saver, then it was a life-extending change.
Rather than describe all the ways this decision has benefitted my life, they are many, I will encourage you to add it to yours. Maybe you already have. If so, then I invite to share your experience in the comments section below.
I was also using Sam Harris ‘waking up’
but have found Headspace to be even better. Headspace now has 40 million users in 200 countries.
All meditation and mindfulness is good.
I am the common denominator in all my situations.
Getting into our beautiful outdoor places that make the west coast so special is how I manage my constantly engaged mindset and the tension that comes with that. Good on you for seeing the power that nature provides us. As for the meditation app I have heard it mentioned several times on both Tim Ferris and Rich Roll podcast, it appears you enjoy the one you are using and think I will give it a try for myself.
Keep up the great work.
Once again thank you for sharing this. We have begun daily morning walks. I’ll try this too. And thank you for taking care of yourself. You are doing a great job.
A Big Thank you for the great job you are doing. I am ever so glad that I voted for you. You have not disappointed me. It looks like you are learning to deal with the enormous stress load , I am so glad.