1. Awareness
Recognize the symptom when it surfaces. Acknowledge that it is there. Check in with it! Unchecked stress can be undeniably damaging. There is no ‘one size fits all’ trigger or solution to stress. However, know that you have more control over your stress levels than you think! See it as a rise to meet a challenge!
2. Avoid
Once you can understand the things that typically bring you stress, you can set the standards for yourself! Learn to say ‘no’ or ‘yes’ for that matter. Although we cannot completely avoid all stress in situations, we can scale it down tremendously by separating and distinguishing the ‘I must’ from the ‘I chose’ on a daily basis. This will help you avoid stressful situations and put you in control, not the situations around you.
3. Acceptance
There will be some things that you cannot altar. Accept it, and know that what you can change, however, is the way you respond to it. Change is an inevitable necessity for growth. Life happens. When we use these challenging circumstances as a school room, and a stepping stone, we rise to something better at the top. We gain wisdom, and we grow.
4. Activity
Get walking! Give yourself a daily 1 hour power walk. Be with yourself. Do not combine your special power walk or workout with a friend. This is your special time to breath, envision, regroup, meditate/pray. This is why I suggest the power walk for this, and not a gym or class where there are distractions; music, instructional voices, unavoidable conversation. You can always add the other activities and walks with a friend at a different time.
5. Action
Put these steps 1-4 into your daily plan of action! Nurture and perfect them, and watch how these 5 ways to eliminate stress in your daily routine will replace stress with happiness. You will catch those curve balls with your new learned skills. Because stress can come daily at anytime, you must keep these actions into play. If you want to eliminate your stress, you must do it and make the changes in your daily life. Wanting is not enough. You must will yourself to change. You are worth it!
See it > Plan it > Live it!
Live in love,
~Lily