Stress Management - Eight Ways to Manage Your Move with Less Stress and More Inner Peace

Moving with Less Stress
How can you manage a cross country move with less stress?
1. Acknowledge Stress. Recognize that some situations are simply stressful. Managing a cross country move definitely falls into this category! When you accept this fact, you are open to self-compassion and in position to take steps to manage your stress.
2. Love and Nurture Yourself. If you need to make a long distance move, plan to love, nurture and support yourself first, so you have inner resources for managing the logistics and assisting the rest of your family members. Plan for a few minutes of quiet time to relax and reflect each day. Do little things to take care of yourself and maintain your sanity during the weeks surrounding your move. What uplifts you? What helps restore your inner peace? Build those things into your schedule as priorities.
3. Accept Your Emotional Ups and Downs. Let it be okay that you feel pushed, pulled, frustrated and emotional. Give yourself permission to laugh and cry, to swear if you must, and to keep going no matter what! You are combining at least four large stressors: the painful process of grieving for all that is lost and left behind, the exciting adventure (good stress!) of a new beginning, the anxiety-provoking challenge of entering unknown territory (new home, community, job, acquaintances), and the exhausting management of major physical transitions -- selling and buying or renting homes, moving furniture, pets and people.
4. Write It Down. Make lists to keep track of all the tasks you must manage. Take advantage of tips from your realtor. Do an internet search for moving tips or strategies and build these into your personal checklists. Exercise patience and self-compassion in this part of the process, too!
5. Corral Essential Items. Very early in the process, gather important papers and valuables into one safe place you can easily access. Think ahead about what you will need at hand for the actual move, and list or physically organize those items so they don't get buried in the chaos of packing. You will be very happy if you take this advice!
6. Do Your Financial Homework. Take a careful look at your financial resources, plan your budget and allow at least 15 percent for unexpected expenses. Avoid services, including moving companies listed on-line, that sound too good to be true. They probably are. You want to manage your move within your means, not be taken for a ride by scam artists.
7. Let It Go, Let It Go, Let It Go! Get rid of as much unnecessary stuff (old, outworn, outgrown, broken, unused in a year or more, etc.) as you possibly can. Fuel costs are driving the costs of moving companies ever higher and you might as well use this opportunity to lighten your load of possessions. Once the excess "stuff" is gone, you'll be amazed at how good you feel, and if you are selling your home, it will show much better.
8. Accept and Appreciate Your Process. As you maneuver through the various stages of the move, you will probably find yourself in a place of inner peace or acceptance about your move, which will make the later phases easier. Continue to be gentle with yourself, and appreciate all the hard physical, mental and emotional work you are doing. Be grateful that you are managing each phase with as much poise, balance and inner peace as you can muster.
To help with managing stress and claiming your own personal peace as much as possible during the move, I invite you to sign up for my free newsletter, 17 Simple Stress Solutions, at http://www.powerofpersonalpeace.com/optin.htm
Dr. Ilenya Marrin is a personal peace consultant, spiritual counselor, inspirational speaker and author of ebooks The Power of Personal Peace: Reducing Stress by Loving Yourself from the Inside Out and 77 Loving Steps for Success.
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