There is one ritual in my life that I would absolutely never give up and that is Teatime with my friend Leslie. For years now I have met weekly with her for tea. We often measure what’s going on in our lives by how many pots of tea will be required that week! That weekly teatime brings so much joy and stress-relief to my life. We laugh, cry and talk our problems down. So often those tea conversations put my problems into prospective and encourage me to ” lighten up.”
Research shows that one of the factors that leads to a long (and let me add joyful) life are good friends. Taking the time to nurture those friendships is key to lowering stress and increasing life satisfaction. So whether it’s weekly calls, getting together for tea, coffee or a glass of wine, going for a walk…whatever- start your own friendship rituals. Pick those friends carefully. They need to be people who uplift you and generally have a positive attitude toward life. One way to measure if your friend is a true “teatime friend” is to check how you feel after you get together. If you usually feel lighter and more joyful then “Ta! Da!” that’s a “teatime friend.” Of coarse more then one “teatime friend” is awesome too. I have two “birthday-celebration friends”, “a weekly over the phone friend” and “a circle of women friends” call once a week. Those social connections and support keep my life rich, sane and delicious.
If you don’t have friend rituals now’s the time to start!
Have an Amazing Monday, (and everyday!)
Leanna Fredrich, Leadership, Career and Stress Management Coach
Leanna@amazingmondays.com