So there I was last week at the neighborhood filling station (probably more accurately described as a gasoline-and-sundries emporium). Inside, should I have desired sustenance, awaited Cheez-Its, Fritos, beef jerky, energy drinks -- all the basic food groups. Avoiding that cornucopia of salty, sugary temptation, instead I stood at the pump, tickled by the great privilege of, for once in a long while, paying fewer than four dollars per gallon to fill my car's tank.
Quick back story: I was under a lot of stress. Work stress. "We're not going to pay you for the 100 hours of work you've done in the past seven business days" stress. But while I recognized that I was feeling peeved, I had no idea how peeved I actually was.
Around me, six or eight other drivers were filling their tanks as well. Above each pump, video screens ran taped advertisements, and several of the other drivers stared at the screens, seemingly enthralled at this rare and exquisite opportunity to consume free audiovisual infotainment. The ads were the same from pump to pump, but they weren't synched, resulting in a Babel of arrhythmically repeated words and intonations.
When my tank was full and I'd returned the pump to its holster, a message on another screen, separate from the one that continued to blare advertisements above it, inquired whether I'd be interested in adding a trip through the drive-through car wash behind the convenience store branch of the emporium. Why, yes, I would, I thought. Conveniently, the car-wash options were listed from most expensive (the Ultra) to least, so that I was forced to scan all the options to find the one I desired (the lowly Express).
Receipt containing my car-wash code in hand, I then drove to the entrance of the car wash. There, another screen asked me to input that code. Which I did, checking its digits carefully as I punched the corresponding keypad buttons. At which point, rather than offering me a message along the lines of "thank you, please drive forward until the red light illuminates" -- you know, a polite "we appreciate your business, we know you're busy, let's get on with it" message -- a metallic female voice blurted suddenly out of a box alongside the screen and keypad.
"Would you like to upgrade your car wash?" the voice asked. "Please insert an additional three dollars to upgrade to Supreme, or an additional six dollars to upgrade to Ultra."
Without realizing what I was doing, bile dripping from my voice, I responded, "Suck my ass."
To a machine. A lifeless piece of technology.
And at that moment, I realized that I was really angry, and really stressed. That the cortisol was probably running through my system like bulls through the streets of Pamplona. That I needed to relax. I might not like many aspects of our modern world, in which the learnings of science are so often used to force upon us a cacophony of messaging urging us to buy, buy, buy, but this was not a healthy way to react to that world.
Thankfully, when I got home, I found this article, outlining five "scientifically proven" relaxation techniques.
Yes! I knew it! Science is not all bad! In fact, it can be downright awesome!
The techniques outlined in the article? 1. Progressive relaxation; 2. Applied relaxation; 3. Autogenic training; 4. Meditation; and 5. Cognitive-behavioral therapy. I've been relying on #4, meditation, to help relieve my stress in recent days, but they're all worth checking out. Read the article to get started.
And good luck! May these techniques help you find relief from stress, anger, and anxiety, and find greater contentment and happiness. Even if just for a moment.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar