Sunday, August 18, 2013

Living a Stress-Free Life - Starting Now

In today's fast paced world, countless people just can't conceive what it might mean to live a stress-free life. Stress is thought to be "part of life, because that just is how life is." Many positive life experiences, like buying a new home, or getting married, can be stressful. This kind of stress is par for the course. But negative stress has its roots in pain, not pleasure, and it's something that you can, and should, live without. When you choose something (or someone) to be part of your life or lifestyle, your first thoughts are rarely of the stress that might come along with your choice. Change in circumstances or in your perception of your personal world, are often triggers for unanticipated stress. If you're already living with the results of some dubious choices, the following tips might help you to restore some balance to an overly stressful life:
Surround yourself with people who are positive and believe in you: Not many people understand how a negative person or group can affect them. Negative people, at their least harmful, might make you feel a little uncomfortable; at their worst they will want you to feel as miserable and angry as they do themselves. Avoid them at all costs and you'll be avoiding a major source of stress!
Be a go-getter: If there's a particular goal you want to achieve. Go for it! There's a whole lot of stress to be had in spending your days wishing you'd done things differently yesterday and even more in regretting the fact that you didn't try at all.
Appreciate the small things: As we get older, we sometimes stop seeing the little things that used to bring us joy. Material possessions become more important. Make it a habit to look at the world through the eyes of your (stress free) inner child, appreciate the beauty of the natural world. Take time to "stop and smell the roses", as the old saying goes.
Steal some time for yourself: Escape the rat-race, if only for a few fleeting moments and spend some time in self-reflection, self-improvement, or self-indulgence! Practice your dance moves, your Yoga positions, or your guitar chords. Do whatever makes you happy and your stress levels will decrease, by default.
Living a stress free life is sometimes as simple as refusing to remove the 'rose colored spectacles', that nobody minded you wearing when you were a kid. Leave stress to the 'grown-ups', adjust your focus, change your perspective, adjust your attitude, and rediscover the simple pleasures in life.

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