How to Handle Stress by Managing your Levels?Written by Craig Lock
Stress is a natural and unavoidable feature of modern life. When pressures of life become too much and we can't cope, stress operates like a screw gradually turning tighter and tighter. Often we don't realise that we are under stress - until pressure becomes too much and lid starts lifting... then we crack. Humans are vulnerable and live under an optimum level of stress every day - they often don't know how to cope, when pressure builds up too much...but what can we do about it to make our lives easier? HOW TO COPE WITH STRESS? Listen to your own alarm system. There are abundant challenges, demands and opportunities in modern living; but these often cause frustration and exasperation. Your first step is to be aware that you are under stress. Make a list of all of all major stress areas in your everyday life. (My what a big list!). Then armed with this knowledge, make an honest commitment to changes in your life. By identifying causes and being open to change, you can at least hope for improvement. FIND THE CAUSE. CALL IT BY NAME, THEN YOU CAN ELIMINATE IT. The key, I believe, is ACCEPTANCE. People suffering from severe stress should seek help from a doctor or therapist. Therapists help patient to feel differently about things. In other words, they get them to have a different perspective. Persons suffering from stress might do small tasks to give them a feeling of accomplishment before returning to work-force. All these techniques can make people grow; just like plants don't grow, unless they are watered and cared for. WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT STRESS? Look at your life and try to find main cause(es) of your stress. What external event or situation is causing problem? Or is it just your perception? Is it physical, emotional or professional? Self knowledge means self help; so that once you can identify cause of your distress, you can eliminate it. Remember that for you to be happy, all three areas of your life (ie. emotional, spiritual and intellectual) need to be satisfied. You need BALANCE in your life. The first step is ACCEPTANCE: admit that you are under stress and not coping with life, as well as you should. Once you accept this, next step is committing yourself to take ACTION to relieve problem. Making that decision to take action is probably hardest for you. It is best to use a combination of strategies to combat moderate stress (the result of daily wear and tear on body).
| | Give Yourself PermissionWritten by Dave Balch
It is September 14, 2001 and I am sitting here trying to think of something to share; frankly, I can't. I'm still in shock over events of last few days so I'm going to offer this:I have always maintained that TV is archenemy of home-based business owner because it's so easy to get sucked-in and completely distracted. I've tried to work while TV is on, but I'm only at 50% capacity at best. I suppose that's better than sitting on couch with a bowl of popcorn, but I prefer operating at a higher level than that. The solution I have always recommended is to never turn on a TV in first place. It's amazing how easy it is to avoid plot lines when you don't know what they are! That said, when there is a major news event I find myself in terrible conflict; should I keep my nose to grindstone or just 'give-in' to temptation to keep up with what's going on? I have found myself in this predicament during major events such as Columbine shootings, Northridge earthquake, Gulf War, and Challenger space shuttle disaster. When something happens that is so devastating, so traumatic, so incomprehensible as terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon, I am not doing myself a favor by 'resisting'. I NEED to keep up with details. I NEED to know what's happening. I NEED to feel involved in some fashion, even if only vicariously. So I gave myself permission, and just left TV on.I didn't even pretend that I was trying to get anything done; I just stayed glued to tube to stay informed. Occasionally I had to remind myself to breathe.
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