I can promise you this ~ It’s going to be a part of your life, with no way to escape it, until the day you take your final breath...
It's something called STRESS and it can drive you, torture you, sicken you and quite literally kill you. I blogged a while back about ways to de-stress, but today I’m going to go right to the heart of stress and perform emergency life-saving surgery!
Alright ladies! Grab yourself a pen and paper and let’s go on a journey that will lead you to a Healthier, More Vibrant & Beautiful You. We'll begin with the diagnosis.
Daily stressors fall into three specific categories:
1) UNAVOIDABLE
2) ALLOWED
3) CREATED
Now it's time to scrub for surgery ~ Carefully list out your daily stressors using the following categories:
1) Uncontrolled – There is absolutely nothing I can do to change the stressful situation or its outcome.
2) Potentially controlled – I didn't cause this stress or the mess, but there are some steps I can take in managing it.
3) Self-created – The truth is that my behavior is causing this stress. There are definite changes I can make to reduce or eliminate these stressors from my life.
Start at the very beginning of your day when the alarm goes off and mentally walk through your entire day...
Take note that how your day begins can set the tone for the whole day. Think about meal times, after you arrive home from work, evenings and weekends because all can involve stressors. Also take a look at vacations, family events, holidays and friendships.
Example: You overslept and the kids aren’t even up to prepare for school. You discover that there’s nothing for breakfast because you forgot to go to the store. Now you’re running late for work and the traffic is horrendous! You arrive at your job and your boss gets right in your face wanting a project done by noon!
Stress has now arrived for the day and planted itself firmly in your life... so what do you do with it?
How do you cope? We humans can be quite creative with our coping mechanisms, but a common one is finding comfort in food. I’ll bet my bottom dollar, too, that the snack you’re going to devour probably has little or no nutritional value and packs a powerful punch when it comes to calories. I guarantee that you’re not going to pause and say, “Gee, I’m going to find myself a really healthy and delicious snack.” No way! You’re going to go for the carrot cake slathered with cream cheese icing, extra-creamy double-fudge ice cream, half a pizza or a big FAT nutritional donut! Yikes! Now you not only have a stress problem, but a weight problem along with a whole variety of disastrous health issues in the making.
You need to decide whether you’re dealing with stress that you can or cannot control.
Your list is now complete. Go back and look at each entry and decide if it is within your control or not. Analyze the solution to the items on your list that you can reasonably control. Maybe you need to get up earlier, organize your shopping, set new boundaries or change your schedule. Maybe it’s an even bigger problem like a job of non-stop stress that you need to walk away from. It's time to face what triggers your stressors and begin the process to peace.
Just remember that the stress you’re living under today will not only dictate your present happiness, but the future of your health and the length of your life.
Obviously, there are events in life that cause stress that you cannot control. I’m sure you have a couple on your list and if you don’t, you will in time. May I suggest that you give this list to God and let Him bear the burden? I will confess that I have a very controlling nature, and this has been extremely difficult for me. Some life lessons have been hard, but I have found that this step of faith frees me up to enjoy my day and allows for a joy in living that had been painfully absent from my life.
Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. I Peter 5:7
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