Cope With Rush Hour

Rush hour occurs once in the morning, once in the afternoon, every weekday of the year except for holidays. It is renowned for causing stress as people rush to get somewhere in a car, on a bus or train, on a bicycle, by foot. There are traffic jams, huge amounts of people all wanting to board the same transport at once, and the sidewalks are crammed with people headed in one direction, minds focused on getting through rush hour as fast as possible. For many people, this is the most stressful part of their day.

Steps

 * 1)  Recognize the cause of the stress. Rush hour isn't so much about getting somewhere on time – you've done it many times before and already know how long it takes to get somewhere and that you can manage this. Rather, it is about the frustration with the event and the desire to make this hurry and be over as soon as possible. As soon as you feel frustrated, you feel under siege, pressured, and denied of such things as "an easier life". These feelings cause stress and if you fail to both acknowledge the source of the stress and talk back to your feelings of frustration, you will always find rush hour a stressful occasion.[[Image:Cope With Rush Hour Step 1 Version 2.jpg|center]]
 * 2)  Take a good look at the predominant attitude about speed being good. We're all in a hurry to do everything these days and the media obliges by reflecting this sense of a need for speed. Fast meals, fast trips, fast cures for headaches and colds, fast fixes for anything and everything. The concept of multitasking exists because we want to get more done all at once! There are many reasons for why this culture of speed has grown in modern times but is that a reason for you to buy into it? Speed sells; it also kills.[[Image:Cope With Rush Hour Step 2 Version 2.jpg|center]]
 * 3)  Learn to be present now. It is a child's trick to want time to pass quickly, so that something unpleasant is soon over. If we carry this into adulthood, we fail to learn that being present in the moment is an important part of confronting our worries and living fully. Instead, make friends with your sense of impatience, your fear of boredom, and confront your need for instant gratification. These reactions to the world around us are childlike and in many ways, manipulative. We seek to manipulate our environment to make it work for us, to part the traffic jam as Moses parted the Red Sea to allow us perfect access to a fast route to work. Do we really assume that we're so special as to be able to speed things up like that? In the thinking we create impossibilities and we make life more miserable for ourselves when the hurry doesn't turn into instant gratification.[[Image:Cope With Rush Hour Step 3 Version 2.jpg|center]]
 * 4)  Be patient. Patience is the ability to deal realistically with the events that are happening around us. We cannot rush things, we cannot change the accident that is clogging the road, we cannot fix the broken down train ourselves. We can accept what has happened though and be willing to work with the situation as it presents itself. When life deals you a rough hand, being patient and present in the moment allows you to see the situation for what it is and to react with compassion, kindness and careful consideration. Moreover, our sense of humor kicks in to help us see the funny side of a situation rather than dramatizing it for greater effect and thereby increasing a sense of anxiety; gentle humor deflates the ego's desire to overstate a problem.[[Image:Cope With Rush Hour Step 4 Version 2.jpg|center]]
 * 5)  Create a sanctuary around you. Rather than reacting anxiously to the fumes, the noise, the crawl of traffic, make your drive or ride a sanctuary. In a car, put on music that soothes you, keep the car clean and fresh-smelling, and keep water on hand for hydration. Use the time caught in traffic to think about the bigger picture rather than fuming at the situation you're in. On public transportation, use the time to read material you enjoy or listen to soothing music on your portable player. Use essential oils to ward off odors and, if you follow the curative properties of such oils, use blends that help increase your stamina and reduce nervousness.[[Image:Cope With Rush Hour Step 5 Version 2.jpg|center]]
 * 6)  Accept that the rush hour won't change but you can. The crowds aren't going to go away, the traffic jams aren't going to disappear. Your perception of the rush hour, however, is easily modified. Acceptance is the full circle of the stress struggle; when you reach this point, you are ready to start anew and to participate in the rituals of daily life without having them overwhelm you.[[Image:Cope With Rush Hour Step 6 Version 2.jpg|center]]

Tips

 * Some people like to write and carry a pen and notebook for moments when they feel stressed. Whatever works for you as a form of mindful distraction is fine.

Related wikiHows

 * Develop a Plan to Manage Stress