Watch Your Own Bobber...

Wendy Wedum, MSU Extension Pondera County

Over the past month, I have been feeling very stressed out.  Our 4-H District just hosted a statewide 4-H event, I have a training coming up, I volunteered to teach a couple classes at the high school and my son is moving back, among other things.

The result is feeling over whelmed and has led to poor eating habits, not exercising enough, not sleeping well and stress headaches the size of Beaverhead county.

Last weekend I asked about my son’s plans for moving and wondering about a potential Plan B in case I cannot help him.  Junior looks up at me, grins and calmly says, “Mom, watch your own bobber.”

My first reaction, because I wasn’t thinking clearly, was what does fishing have to do with moving?  Then the fog cleared and I realized what he meant as he said, "I’ve got my move handled and you don’t need to worry about it."  Then he shared he had changed his plans from what we talked about a couple months ago.

Spring can be a stressful time in rural Montana.  Sudden weather changes, calving, seeding crops, unexpected expenses, scholarship applications, graduations, planning for summer fun…whatever your list is, it can get big, fast.

If you are stressing out there are a couple strategies to help you watch your own bobber.  Write down a list of the things you are dealing with.  For each item, ask yourself what do you have control over?  Or What can you do to influence what happens with the item?  If you cannot change or do much about it, then it is time to stop watching that bobber.

If you can do something about it or have some control over the item, then it is time to do some planning or goal setting to better manage what is happening or what needs to be done.

When you are stressed out, it is hard to look at what you are doing objectively.  My son gave me a gentle reminder that he’s got this and he will ask for help when he needs it.

If you are interested in resources to cope with stress, MSU Extension has several MontGuides that may help.  One is called 50 Stress Busting Ideas for your Well Being, and there are others that deal with coping with family stress, helping children cope with natural disasters and dealing with financial crisis.

To get these resources you can call your local Extension office, or you can visit the North Central Montana Extension Blog, visit the Pondera County Extension facebook page or check out the KSEN/K96FM blog for links to downloadable pdf files on the msuextension.org website.

There are many resources available.  You don’t have to let yourself get hooked by things that are outside of your control.  My stress load dropped a lot that day and I got another good life lesson from my son when I listened to his wise words to “watch my own bobber.”

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SMART Goals

Jesse Fulbright, MSU Liberty County Extension

During the lull between Christmas and New Year’s, how many of you are thinking of resolutions or ways to improve?  I suspect that it is almost second nature to many of us.  I hope that after today all of us be a little bit more successful in attaining goals no matter the time of year.

When looking at setting a resolution, remember to make it SMART.  Make it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound.  What exactly does your resolution accomplish?  Why do I want to accomplish this?  Think about your resolution.  In terms of measuring it, how will you know if you’ve succeeded?  What are the steps you need to take each day/week/month to achieve the goal?  Do you have the resources to accomplish this goal?  Will the steps you have planned help you attain the goal?  Is your goal relevant?  Can you commit to this goal?  Will you not be able to reach another goal or do something else you want to do because you are working towards this goal?  Last, what is the time limit for your resolution?  Maybe your goal is something that will take longer and be of a larger perspective, or perhaps it is a short-term goal. 

Setting SMART goals can help you decide if the goal is a good fit for you as it is, or if you need to revise it to ensure success.  It is often best to start with the “time-bound,” “specific” and “measurable” and then review them for being “attainable” and “relevant.”  An example of a goal that isn’t quite SMART would be, “I want to take a trip to Europe in October for my birthday.”  Not quite effective, right?  The same goal, after being put through the SMART process by an individual, might look like this:

Specific – I want to take a two-week trip to Ireland with my family for my birthday in October of 2018.  Measurable – I need to save $4,000 to cover flight costs, lodging, transportation and miscellaneous costs based on my research.  Time-bound – October is 10 months away.  That means I need to save $444 a month until October to have my $4000 set aside to cover costs.  Attainable – $444 is a lot of money a month for me to set aside when I also am saving for a car.  Relevant – I am not sure I can commit to this goal.  It might set me back from getting my car; perhaps I should plan for a different trip.  Having decided this goal is too much at this time, the process can be repeated; this time, the new goal could be to take a trip to a Seattle for five days and save a considerable amount of money.