Black Friday Stress Relief

‘Tis the season to be jolly…

IF you haven’t completely become a symbiote of Amazon.com, you may just find yourself driving to and from stores on Black Friday.  You may just find yourself competing for parking spots and waiting in check-out lines. Gosh, a recipe for stress!  

Here’s a super simple hack for traveling between stores.  I call it steering wheel drumming. You’ve probably done it before, but I want to explain WHY it works. First, Opt OUT of listening to talk radio while you’re driving, and opt IN to listening to your favorite tunes.  When listening, don’t just listen, play the beat with your fingers. It’s safe, and it requires your brain to focus on a layer WITHIN the music, which automatically brings your focus into the present moment.  The stress of shopping often are past or future-based.  

Example 1: You can’t find a parking spot to get in to store 1, and worried that store 2 will be ‘sold out’ by the time you get there… that’s you stuck in the near future.

Example 2: You waited in a long line at store 1 and are sore about it while you’re traveling to store 2… that’s you stuck in the recent past.  

When you drum along on your steering wheel to your favorite music, you are no longer bouncing back and forth from past to future.

BONUS:

While you’re IN the store, you won’t be able to select the music you’re listening to in the moment. It’s a lottery whether you like the songs blaring at you. If you’re shopping alone, consider putting in your earbuds and bop along to your own beat… ESPECIALLY while in a long line.  I RARELY shop without my earbuds in. They help me stay focused and be in the moment. When I’m in line and the music is playing, I’m present to the music… in the present. When there isn’t music, I’m present to the fact that I’m NOT halfway to my next location… which is the near future.

So, there’s a couple of intuitive hacks for reaching for music on Black Friday! Happy shopping, and remember, it’s not about the stuff… 😉