Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Distract yourself from the excitement
• Part 2 of 3: Do relaxation exercises
• Part 3 of 3: Burning off excess energy
• Tips
• Warnings

Are you overflowing with enthusiasm? It can be great to feel excited about something that is happening in your life, be it an invitation from your great love to a dance party or being hired for that job you recently applied for. Whatever it is that got you so aroused, you can always learn a few things to help manage that arousal.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Distract yourself from the excitement

1. Do fun things so that you don't have to think about the excitement all the time. Play a challenging computer game. Go balls with the dog. Take a bike ride with your brother or sister. Watch a whole bunch of funny YouTube videos. Make a marathon of watching that new series on Netflix. Just having good old-fashioned fun.
   • Pouring your excitement into positive and enjoyable behavior can be effective in calming and distracting you from what aroused you.
   • People who don't have fun are more prone to crime, obesity and a loss of creativity, researchers say. Even in those times when you're not just looking for some distraction, you will need to take playtime as seriously as work time.
2. Get artistic in a way that distracts you from what turns you on. There are a variety of ways to distract yourself, both healthy and less healthy. Using your excitement for a creative purpose is a productive and healthy way to spend your time doing something.
   • Your options for getting creative are essentially endless. You can take a pottery course. Write a short story, poem, or song. Start drawing. Buy a box of crayons and a coloring book. Make a painting of your house. Grab the camera and try to take interesting photos of common household items.
   • With art you can release or channel nervous energy in your body. Some people find it difficult to express their excitement in words, but creating art gives you a vehicle to translate those feelings into physical form.
3. Finish a few chores. Take the opportunity to temporarily forget what turned you on so much by rolling up your sleeves. Go home and make a list of any household chores or errands that have yet to be done, and get started.
   • Rake leaves together, mow the grass, wash the car, do the laundry, dust off the fans - just keep yourself busy and moving so you don't get caught in your excitement.
   • Chores probably aren't high on your list of distracting things to do. They are no fun at all. But research has been done on the benefits of doing chores. Studies have shown that adolescents who did various chores had a greater sense of responsibility, more self-esteem, and were better able to deal with frustration.
4. Make your excitement contagious by volunteering. When we are in a good mood, we have the power to improve the mood of others around us as well. You can use that extra energy to positively impact other people's lives.
   • People tend to unconsciously imitate the mood of those around them. That is why it is possible to share your positive energy with others, by reading or working creatively with the residents of a nursing home, patients in a hospital or working with children in a mentor group. They will be able to benefit from your uplifting mood, providing you with a positive method of releasing your arousal.
5. Give yourself a taste of what you are excited about. Sometimes the best way to release your extra energy is to start doing what you're excited about. If you are excited about a new job or a vacation, there is no way to speed up the time so that the big day will arrive faster. But there are a few other things you can do.
   • For example, if you are excited about a new job, you can help yourself through this period by preparing yourself for it. You can search online for more information about the vacancy to find out more about it. You can also go shopping to find clothes that match your new job.
   • If you're skipping with excitement about a future vacation, you can prepare for that too. Start making travel plans or list the different activities you want to do on your route. You can do a cursory search through Google for more information about the travel destination. You can also make a list of things that you are going to take with you on a trip.

Part 2 of 3: Do relaxation exercises

1. Take a deep breath to calm your emotions. Deep breathing can be an effective way to center and calm yourself. This exercise helps put your body in a naturally relaxed state. You can do this exercise sitting, standing or lying down.
   • Start by breathing naturally. Then take a deep breath through your nose for 4 counts. Hold your breath for about 2 counts. Then let the air flow out through your mouth for 4 seconds. Repeat this exercise for a few minutes to calm down.
   • You can also add a mantra to your breath. Over and over as you breathe, think of something like, "I am the example of calm."
2. Meditate to consciously control your arousal. Mindful meditation can help calm your mind and reduce over-excitement. Maybe you think meditation sounds boring, or you think it's impossible to sit still because of all the excitement. Meditation can be quite a challenge for beginners, but the benefits are very broad. Meditation can reduce stress, increase your concentration, improve your attention in your daily activities, and reduce the chatter in your head that keeps you from being productive.
   • Sit comfortably in a chair or on a cushion. Breathe in slowly and deeply. Focus on the now by focusing your attention on different sensations in your environment.
   • Listen to the sounds you hear while breathing, how your body feels in the chair, or imagine a place on the wall in front of you. If you find your attention drifting, simply return to the focus point.
3. Visualize yourself being calm and relaxed. Visualization requires that your attention be focused on a relaxing place in order to calm yourself. Like so many of these calming techniques, the good thing about visualization is that the benefits don't stop with relaxation. This mental exercise can also improve your motivation, increase your physical performance, boost your confidence and set your brain for success. You do this as follows:
   • Sit quietly in a quiet room. Take a deep breath in and out. Close your eyes and think of a place that calms you down. This can be a real place or an imaginary one, such as an exotic beach or a peaceful stream.
   • Activate your senses to notice smells, tastes, sounds and physical touch associated with the calming place.
   • You can also listen to guided visualization exercises, where the speaker guides you through these imaginary steps. It's really easy to find visualization exercises on YouTube, or download them from a health or stress management website.

Part 3 of 3: Burning off excess energy

1. Exercise to burn off excess energy and calm yourself. Even positive arousal can cause mental and physical stress. Indulging in some form of physical activity engages both the mind and the body, and afterwards you enter a calm state. If you are overly excited about something. Then exercising can help to train away the excessive excitement and you can relax.
   • Go for a walk or run for about 20 minutes. This may seem short, but it doesn't take much effort to reduce stress.
   • You can combat extreme mental chatter by doing a more intense workout, such as ball sports, intensive interval training, or power yoga.
2. Go outside and breathe in the fresh air to get a different perspective. Sitting inside too much will make it extra difficult for you to focus your thoughts on anything other than what you are excited about. Take a break and get out into nature.
   • Spending time outside just makes people happier. Science has discovered that even short walks in nature can reduce feelings of depression, improve your outlook on life, strengthen your body's immune system and increase concentration (which you can certainly use now).
   • You can go out alone or invite a friend to help distract yourself even more. You can take a walk in the park together or throw a ball in the backyard.
3. Listen to music and dance to whatever excites you. You can listen to comforting music while doing a task to calm your excitement. Or put on nice music and get your feet off the floor. Jump, clap, shout or dance.
   • By dancing to music you get moving, which releases endorphins (which give you a good feeling) in the body.
   • But exercising can also help to prevent over-excitement. You may want to take a short nap after a fun dance session.

Tips

• Don't drink caffeinated drinks before going to bed.
• Try to channel your energy into something productive that will benefit your family, ward, school, etc.
• Try to relax! Take a nice warm bath and light candles. Curl up nicely with your soft plush animals (if you have one).

Warnings

• Don't let your excitement get so out of hand that what you were excited about in the first place is nullified or harmed.