His Stress, Her Stress

This little book helps you to develop a lifestyle that better fits what you would describe as your ‘perfect life’ With many goal setting ideas and life organization strategies, there’s something for everyone. At the very least, it offers a useful and entertaining read; used to the fullest, its many practical ideas can help you develop a happier and less stress-free lifestyle.

What’s more, if you’re busy, stressed and feel that it’s almost impossible to find quiet time to meditate every day, you’re in luck: you can learn to meditate anywhere you are, and get things done while you do it!

Grab a copy now at an introductory price of just $25USD! I can’t promise how long the price will stay there!

Organizing Your Life to Cope With Stress

Get organized, and you’ve taken one big step on the way to reducing stress. What does it take to get organized? Try getting up earlier and giving yourself more time in the morning. Prepare your shirt and pants the night before. Make your lunch the night before. You can avoid some of the mad scramble to find everything in the morning and start your day on a less stressful note. With your family, organize some tasks, such as meal planning and preparation, and other household chores, so that the family can work together. In this way, one person won’t have the stress of doing everything.

Write everything down that you need to do and remember. Make lists. Make up a time schedule that includes those things you have to do and also allow some time for the things you want to do, such as shopping or watching television.

While you are setting goals, listing priorities, and writing schedules, be sure to include time to do something you like that will allow you to tune out your worries for a while. That’s what sixteen-year-old Vanessa did when she tried out for the soccer team. Vanessa is one of the top students in her high school class, taking advanced courses in English, math, and science. She has won awards for her English essays. She is also a member of the student council.

“Everyone thought I was crazy to try out for soccer when I had so much studying and so many responsibilities,” Vanessa says. “I think they understand now that I needed soccer so that I could get away from all the pressures and stress. It really works. When I’m playing soccer, I don’t worry about anything else. When I have to go back to studying I feel better about it. I also like being with people that I might not have met otherwise.”

To help reduce stress, it is important to take time to do something you like, something that makes you feel comfortable, or something that makes you feel calm. You can choose from a variety of activities that will make you feel good and that don’t involve a lot of planning, a lot of money, or a lot of thought.

An appropriate activity can be something as simple as eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cleaning a closet, feeding the birds, or writing to a faraway friend. You can take a walk, read a mystery, take a bath, bake cookies, learn a new song, run a mile, start a collection, or volunteer to help someone who needs it. Do an activity on a regular basis that is calming for you.

Besides planning work and recreation, you can set aside a special time in your schedule for worrying, too. This way, worrying won’t interfere with the rest of your life, adding stress. Just thinking about your problems may lead you to a plan of action or a solution. Try not to worry about things that are beyond your control.

If the source of your stress is the illness or death of a family member or friend, set aside time to think about that person and your good memories of his or her life. Write about your feelings in a journal. In that person’s memory, do something you enjoy. Share your memories with others.

Setting Goals to Cope With Stress

Coping with stress should be goal-driven. You need to ask yourself: What are my goals? How can I reach my goals in a positive way? Will my decisions create more or less stress in my life?

Setting goals includes establishing priorities and keeping things in perspective. Some stressful situations are serious and may require professional counseling in order to be resolved. Other situations that may seem stressful for the moment are not threatening to your life or your lifestyle.

An important step in establishing goals is setting priorities. You can’t do everything you want to do or have to do, and trying to do everything usually leads to a lot of stress. That is why you have to prioritize your activities; that is, put them in order of importance to you.

When you set priorities, you need to think about your values and your goals. You can start by making a list of the tasks you have to do and want to do, with the most important ones first. Then do one task at a time, checking it off as it is completed. As you make your list, ask yourself, “Is this task necessary?”

Most importantly you can say no in some situations.

Give yourself permission to say no once in a while (but not all the time) to things you ought to do. When you feel pressured to do things you don’t want to do, you are only wasting both physical and emotional energy.

You can cope with stress by saying no to something that will add to your stress. “I was honored when our senior class president asked me to be the chairman of the prom committee,” says Jeff. “I had to think about it. I’m already involved in a lot of sports and activities in school, many hard classes, and even a part-time job. I finally said no, although that made me feel bad. I’m already stressed; adding one more thing would probably make me crazy.”

When your stress is the result of a serious problem, such as the illness or death of a family member, you may have to think differently about the way you do things. You may need to postpone some decisions you are asked to make and some of the activities you are asked to take care of. This is the time when you have a right to say no to some requests.

The Power of Positive Thinking to Cope With Stress

Think positively. Be hopeful and realistically optimistic. Try to look at a stressful situation in a more positive way.
“When my boss yelled at me for doing something wrong, I was ready to quit,” says Mitch, sixteen. “I thought, who needs the stupid job, anyway! There was just too much stress. Then I realized that I like the work, and I need the money. I know I can do a better job if I want to, so I’m going to try. I concentrated on doing things better by being more careful, coming in on time, and things like that. Well, it worked. The boss was happy, so there was less stress. I even got a raise.”

When you’re “talking to yourself,” make up a positive or optimistic phrase that you can repeat to help reduce negative thinking, such as, “I can handle anything.” At the end of the day, think of something new and good that happened during the day. Don’t allow negative thoughts to overwhelm the positive. Stay away from negative people and people who resort to violence or use drugs to avoid their problems.
Sixteen-year-old Christie knows the value of positive thinking. “I had an argument with my friend, Alex, on a Friday afternoon. I’m afraid I said some things I shouldn’t have, and I may have hurt her feelings. I felt guilty and depressed, but I couldn’t talk to Alex all weekend. And the negative thoughts kept building up in my head; I was feeling queasy. I knew that I had to try to think of something positive or I would be stressed out. So I thought of all of the fun things we’ve done together.

“When I finally saw Alex on Monday, I had a positive attitude. I was able to smile and say ‘hi’ and really mean it. If I had let my stress build up, I may have been too angry, and who knows what I might have said. Instead, we worked things out, and we’re still friends. I think it shows.”

Having a positive attitude is one way of approaching stress and coping with it. However, your positive attitude must reflect your feelings. Holding in feelings and just trying to look happy without working through the cause of your stress can only lead to more stress. Whatever you feel is okay, including anger; there are no right and wrong feelings. It’s how you express your emotions, whether in a positive or destructive way, that is important.

Develop or maintain a sense of humor. Laughing is an emotional release. The person who said “Laughter is the best medicine” wasn’t joking! When you feel stressed, smile and say something nice to someone else. You’ll both feel better. Do something that makes you smile or laugh; but don’t laugh or joke about your serious concerns. You should take them seriously.

Crying can also help to relieve some stress, and may even prevent a headache or other symptoms. Holding in your emotions slows down the process of coping with stress. Crying helps clear your mind so coping can begin.

Avoid the three kinds of negative thinking that one counselor calls “mind traps”: exaggeration (“That’s the worst thing I could have done.”); generalization (“I always do the wrong thing.”); and negative self-talk (“Boy, am I stupid.”). Remember that everyone goes through stressful times and makes mistakes. Your situation is a normal part of the maturing process.

Breaking The Cycle of Stress

This little book helps you to develop a lifestyle that better fits what you would describe as your ‘perfect life’ With many goal setting ideas and life organization strategies, there’s something for everyone. At the very least, it offers a useful and entertaining read; used to the fullest, its many practical ideas can help you develop a happier and less stress-free lifestyle.

What’s more, if you’re busy, stressed and feel that it’s almost impossible to find quiet time to meditate every day, you’re in luck: you can learn to meditate anywhere you are, and get things done while you do it!

Grab a copy now at an introductory price of just $25USD! I can’t promise how long the price will stay there!