Trying to live stress-free might actually be stressing you out. Why is that? Because a stress-less life is not reality. It’s because of stress that we accomplish our goals. It’s what spurs us on to overcome our challenges.
But not all stress is the same. While the fear of being eaten by a dinosaur was indeed stressful, terror like that incites a completely different reaction than trying to get your child to soccer practice on time or find the perfect pair of shoes for an important event.
Modern day stress has more to do with taking on too many responsibilities and trying to get everything under control, compared to fearing if we’ll live to see another day. Today, it’s all about overload and choosing our priorities.
Here are 5 major areas of your life with guidance on how to reduce stress and create positive energy in your life:
Identify stressors – Are you always late for appointments because you slept in again? Maybe you’re staying up too late to watch your favorite programs or play video games. Or you’re one of those who commits to everything and everyone who needs help. Figure out the stressors and slowly chip away at eliminating some.
Procrastination – Letting things pile up until there’s too much to do is a major cause of stress. Procrastination is a bad habit that causes people to live their lives on a roller coaster of regret. Realize what you can do right now and what really can wait until later. Set deadlines or even use timers to give yourself certain time limits to accomplish tasks. Being ahead of the game instead of playing catch-up will work wonders on your stress level.
Multitasking and controlling – Trying to take on too many tasks and doing them all at the same time only leads to frustration. The only thing you can control is yourself and work on one task at a time. Also, remember to dole out tasks to others by delegating and let them do the best they can. Learning to ‘single-task’ and not take on too many things will be an immense sense of stress release.
Eliminate energy drains – What are the things that drain your energy? House cleaning? Lawn mowing? Consider outsourcing things in your life that you just don’t like to do or that stress you out. That’s not just things, it’s also people. Think of the people in your life who are a constant source of over-sharing or want you to solve their problems for them. Also, consider the people in your life who make it more difficult – in person, at work and on social media.
Relax, eat healthy and exercise – It’s not all spring cleaning and eliminating things when it comes to living a life with less stress. There are positive things to include to improve your life. Eating a well-balanced diet of proteins, fats and complex carbohydrates will do wonders for controlling stress levels. Also, make sure to exercise as often as you can. Even if it’s walking at lunch time or taking a yoga class. Be sure to get a good night’s sleep and spend down time participating in low-stress activities that you enjoy.
While there are countless other ways to reduce stress in your life, consider the sources of your stress in your life and eliminate whatever you can.
If you found this advice to be helpful and might benefit family and friends, consider sharing it with them.
Sources
http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/05/21/20-procrastination-hacks/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/17/reduce-stress-research_n_2884876.html
http://www.healthline.com/health-slideshow/10-ways-to-relieve-stress
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm
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