Effective Ways to Manage Stress: Success Tips
One type of stress none of us can avoid is Environmental Stress. Environmental stress is the stress that you can do absolutely nothing about. It is the small stuff that ruffles your feathers. This includes things like the weather, traffic, and getting stuck in the slowest line at the supermarket. You know, the one with the person arguing over not being able to use the coupon that expired a month ago.
Since we can do nothing about environmental stressors, an effective way to deal with them is to let go of the hold they have on us and reframe the experience.
One way to do that is to reframe a stressful situation and see it with a perspective of gratitude. For example, instead of being overwhelmed by piles of laundry, you can say to yourself, “I’m so fortunate to have all these clothes to wear.” Or when you are stuck in the slowest line at the grocery store, you can look at your cart full of food and remember to be grateful that you can buy what you need.
Gratitude is a powerful approach to living a more peaceful and balanced life. Studies show that gratitude is consistently associated with happiness, optimism, and improvement in health, relationships and stress levels. Keeping a gratitude journal is one way to remind ourselves that we have so much more than we realize. Start by keeping a journal next to your bed and list a few things each morning that you are grateful for in your life. Before you fall asleep each night, remind yourself once more of what it is you are grateful for ~ in your life or in your day, as it comes to a close.
Other people choose to do practical things to reduce their stress. For example, try keeping audio-books in your car to make your slow commute more tolerable. As you drive you can listen to entertaining or educational materials that you wouldn’t make time for otherwise. Or you can carry a magazine or book to read when you are encountered with unexpected delays.
By letting go and re-framing the experience, you will find that you can take environmental stress in stride.
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
Visit BYL tomorrow for Day Four: To-Do List or Ta-Da List
Articles on the benefits of gratitude:
In Praise of Gratitude ~ Harvard Health
7 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Gratitude That Will Motivate You To Give Thanks Year-Round
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