Published by Time Inc. Books “The Bible. Unlock the Bible’s Secrets. All the way it can transform your life.”
If you are serious about making positive changes in your life this year, then reducing stress and its harmful effects needs to be a top priority. Stress that festers can contribute to all kind of health problems – including heart disease and obesity – as well as social and emotional issues.
Give yourself a New Year’s gift that keeps on giving: make this the year you take strides toward eliminating stress in your life. Here’s how.
- IDENTIFY YOUR STRESSORS
Are you overbooked? Are you wrestling with difficult decisions? Do you feel like something is missing from your life? Are you trying to keep up with others in your social circle? Are plagued with self-doubt? Do you feel compelled to live up to other people’s expectations? Identifying the root causes is the first step toward reducing stress.
- TRY AN OCCASIONAL CHANGE OF VENUE
Physically remove yourself from the places where stress abounds. Instead, find a quiet retreat, a place that refreshes your soul. It could be a botanical garden, a nature walk, or an art gallery – someplace you can decompress and regain your emotional equilibrium.
- TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THE PEOPLE YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH
Depending on the circumstances, stress can be contagious. For example, you can catch stress from
- coworkers in high pressure office settings;
- overly competitive parents of kids in your child’s school;
- hard-to-please patriarchs, matriarchs, or siblings in dysfunctional families.
You may not be able to avoid such people entirely, but you can limit the time you spend with them and the influence you allow them to have.
- ADMIN WHAT STRESS REALLY IS
Instead of steeling yourself to endure stress – instead of pretending that you thrive on constant pressure – acknowledge the damage it causes. It can wear you out socially, emotionally, spiritually and physically. So take a step back from it.
Paul David Pope 