Too Blessed to be stressed

Stress is an ignorant state.  It believes that everything is an emergency. 

Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind

Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Stress isn’t always bad. In small does, it can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. But when you’re constantly running in emergency mode, your mind and body pay the price. You can protect yourself by recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

Hasn’t stress increased over the years rather than decreasing

Stress is the trash of modern life — we all generate it but if you don't dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.

Terri Guillemets

Story – Let it go!!

Once upon a time there were two holy men strolling down a wooded path in a forest outside Naples, Italy. Their heads were bowed, and the hoods of their robes cut much of the world off from view as they strolled along, softly mumbling their orisons.

Coming to a narrow stream, they stopped. A young lady stood beside the creek. She had on a new pair of shoes and a long peasant dress and seemed reluctant to cross the stream lest she muddy her garment. Without a moment’s hesitation, one of the monks picked up the young woman and carried her across. He put her gently back down on the path. She smiled her thanks and he nodded in response.

The two continued their walk in silence. After some time had passed, the other monk, who was obviously highly agitated, broke the quiet. “How could you do that?” he asked, his face in a grimace of disapproval.

The first monk, deep in thought, looked at his companion in astonishment. “Do what?” he asked.

“How could you touch that woman? You picked her up and handled her, and you—you touched her.” The holy man’s mouth was set and compressed.

“Oh, are you still carrying that young lady?” the first monk responded, a twinkle in his eye. “I put her down an hour ago.”

The stress management tip illustrated by this story is very clear. Simply let go. When you think about something you give it energy. It is up to you to either give positive or negative thoughts energy. So one stress management tip, Power of Self Mind Control graduates follow is to control and monitor their their thoughts carefully.

Step back – when in a stressful situation step back, avoid making a decision. The ability to make an objective decision when stressed is difficult. Stepping back allows you to diffuse the situation.

Talk to someone about it, this helps taking the load of your back and enables you to get a clear picture of your situation. T also stands for triggers – each individual has unique situations that make them stressed.  You must identify the situations that make you stressed.

Relax – take a stroll refresh your mind/ meditate

Emotion – 10% of our life are the things that happen to us or circumstances, 90% is how we respond to it.

Strategy- stress occurs due to overload of work. Write down the list of tasks that you need to perform.  Then prioritize the tasks that need to be performed by you and those that can be delegated.

Step by step – One task at a time. Multitasking is a cause of stress and reduces productivity. 

Stress occurs when you continuously think about yourself and your problems, life is not always about ME it’s about WE. So go out and help others, make a difference in the lives of other people.