Stress is a common word. As an unpleasant emotion it can be associated with illness, parenting, exams, relationships, diets, employers, money, holidays, etc. It can trigger with high expectation events—even beautiful, exciting things can be very stressful. Also, one person’s
stress could be another person’s joy. Our perception of what is happening contributes to our level of stress. We can’t blame someone else, because only we are responsibility for our emotions.

It helps if we remember everyone has stress. We are not weird or sick or abnormal because we get “stressed out.” Our world is over-stimulated with noise and information and opportunities, not to mention obligations and disappointments. How could we expect lives to be stress-free?

The secret is to control stress before it controls us. The first and most crucial step is to recognize when life is getting beyond the level of management. We can then stop—sit—think—breathe—gain control. For more information on stress, anxiety, and pressure search:  http://www.webmd.com.

A moderate amount of angst is reasonable and healthy. It helps us get-up and get-going. It is when we have too many places to go, people to see, and things to do that we get stressed. A keynote speaker said, “If we had no appointments (meaning deadlines), we would have no
stress.” Not sure I agree totally, but she had a point.

We can control our stress because we can usually control our choices. For example, nothing requires me to do a day’s work before a 10:00 a.m. appointment. When meeting someone, I can give myself a 15-minute window. I don’t have to have a spotless house. I don’t have to plan
everyone’s schedule. I can fill the car with gas before it’s empty. I can leave the house 10 minutes early, I don’t have to be perfect, ever, and I can delegate. I can say, “no,” I can get a good night’s sleep, say words I need to say, eat things that are green and not fried, I can take long
walks, laugh more, choose who I spend time with, and put myself first without guilt.

I hear stressful information, such as “America is the most over-fed, under-exercised, and over-medicated country in the world,” “more Americans die from too much rather than not enough food,”  and “more Americans die from suicide than from homicides, car accidents, and
terrorism combined.”

Stress can be the root of many negative national and global statistics. What we can do to solve the big problem seems insignificant, but it isn’t — self-improvement matters. Remember the power of one.

We can each increase positivity in our days when we decrease levels of stress. Know what your stressors are, make choices that help decrease those stressors, and take care of yourself.

Imagine the change if everyone followed your good example!

Until the next time: Live while you live.

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