9 RULES TO BECOME STRESS FREE IN 2017

9 RULES TO BECOME STRESS FREE IN 2017

2017 is here and there is no turning back.  We are welcoming a new U.S. President and world and life events are unfolding at a rapid pace.  We left 2016 a little jaded with many mass atrocities that hit both foreign and domestic territories.  We survived the Zika virus scare, Aleppo, and Brexit.  A lot of people face stress triggering situations on a daily basis.  It can be caused by a lot of factors both physical and otherwise. Pressure from work, death or problems with loved ones, financial problems, lack of sleep, and sickness are obvious stress triggers. Anything that affects the natural balance of the body is a stress trigger and how our body react to situations is what we know as stress.

Stress sometimes can be temporary and healthy. That slight rush when we're nearing a deadline and we push ourselves to complete the task is healthy stress.  However, if it becomes persistent and starts to infringe on our lives and hinder health and productivity then it can become dangerous.

Below are some important tips that will help you cope with stress

Discover your stress triggers: The most important step that we must not neglect in dealing with stress is to discover what causes our stress.. It could be work, pressure from family and friends, lack of sleep etc. The most important thing is to understand your body system and the things that causes stress for you.

Once you are able to discover the triggers of stress in your life, then you will be able to properly manage the stress in your life. Take a moment and self reflect and figure out what is causing you discomfort.

Change the situation where possible and learn to adapt to the ones that you cannot change: The fact is that we cannot totally avoid the factors that triggers stress. It is left for us to ascertain situations where we can avoid and the ones we need to adapt to. If you cannot avoid the situation, then you need to change your mentality about the situation. That way, it will help reduce the stress associated with certain events or situations.

Remain Positive: Maintaining a positive attitude towards situations in life is one of the ways we can reduce stress. Negativity is a stressor and the earlier we develop our mindset to be optimistic about life, the more peaceful we will become.

Exercise: Exercise is very important for the wellbeing of the body. If you want to live a healthy, stress-free and a longer life, then exercise need to be part of your daily or weekly routine.  Stay active and move.  Even if it means taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work or going for a walk after work.  Every action matters.

Find time to relax:  Find some Me time.  Take a deep breath, sit down for at least ten minutes with your eyes closed during the day.  It is most helpful to do this during lunch or right after a hard day at work.  Relaxation might involve listening to music, meditating, and or yoga.

Talk to someone about your feelings:  Are you stressed? Sharing your feelings with people you can trust can help alleviate the pressures of everyday life.  We all have the need to vent sometimes and it can be a great stress reliever.

Eat healthy meals: Some of us are so busy that we barely have time to eat healthy and balanced meals. Healthy eating is not only necessary for your physical growth and well-being, it also helps to relax the nerves and reduces stress.  Eating healthy will take time and some planning.  When we eat of out convenience we don't always make the healthiest choices.

Get a hobby: Do you have something that draws your attention? It could be reading books, playing or watching football, golf, watching tv, painting, building bird houses or just hanging out with friends.  Indulging in activities that makes you happy from the inside is a unique antidote to stress.

Set achievable goals: Don't beat yourself up.  We are often our harshest critic.  Set realistic goals that are inline with your true feelings.  In our journey to excellence we attempt to make everything around us perfect, we sometimes set unrealistic goals that will only leave us feeling like complete failures.  Set realistic goals and if you don't quite reach them, learn from the mistakes and use those mistakes on your journey to excellence.

At the end of the day, we're all stressed at some point in our lives. Hopefully some of these tips can help you deal with stress so you can live a healthy purposeful life.

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100 Words of Gratitude "Tiny Blessings"

100 words of Gratitude

 

We all have those days when we ask, "What do I have to be thankful for?"  Then we delve into the ugliness of finding all the things that are wrong with our lives.  It's easy to come up with the things that are wrong with our lives.  It can be a challenge to find the things that are right.  Start simple, with the seemingly small things.  When we start seeking things to be grateful for, the more things we will find to be grateful for.  We often take the simple things for granted.  Seek gratitude and you will find peace.

Gratitude, The Anxiety Cure?

Can practicing Gratitude help with Anxiety?

                "I hate my life," used to be the phrase that played in my mind several times a day.  Or I would slap my forehead and utter FML ($uck my life) every time something “bad” happened to me.   That used to be my self-talk along with many other unhealthy phrases that clogged my mind.  Why did I hate my life?  I was worried and anxious about everything that could possibly go wrong.   I worried about work deadlines, co-workers talking about me, my kids and social relationships.  I stressed over money, or the lack of money.  It was an insane cycle that I allowed to repeat daily.

                Per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (adaa.org), anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the United States.  Generalized anxiety disorder affects 6.8 million adults.  Social anxiety Disorder affects 15 million.  Men, women, and children are affected.  No one is immune.

                Anxiety can manifest itself in physical symptoms as well as mental.  Some of the physical symptoms include irritability, fatigue, restlessness, sweating, insomnia, nausea, abnormal heartbeat and trembling.  These symptoms can be debilitating and affect everything including school, work, home and social relationships.

                My self-talk was ugly.  I was my own worst enemy.   Now, I am at peace and the phrases that repeat in my mind daily are positive.  How did I turn that frown upside down?  It didn't happen over- night.  It took time, work, and effort.  What changed?  I started practicing gratitude.

                I started saying thank you and feeling grateful for all my life experiences.  So, “FML” turned into “Thank you Jesus”.  I started thanking God and the Universe for allowing me teachable moments through those unpleasant experiences.  Life happens.  I may spill coffee on my shirt right before a big interview or trip over my own feet and land flat on my face as I cross the street.  No matter what happens I am thankful for the experience and I move on.  I don't dwell on the bad and I celebrate the good. 

                Do you want to learn how to practice gratitude and find peace?  Subscribe today and start receiving the tools you need to turn your sour lemons into sweet lemonade.

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5 RULES TO ACTIVATE THE POWER OF PREPARATION AND POSITIVE THINKING

THE POWER OF PREPARATION AND POSITIVE THINKING

Positive thinking will help you achieve success, good health, inner peace, happiness, satisfaction, and good relationship.  A positive attitude makes life promising and brighter.

Positive thinking is more than just repeating a few positive words, or telling yourself, “I can do it,” or “everything will be fine.” It has to be a permanent mental attitude.  Once we conquer the positive mindset we become better equipped to prepare for any challenges that come our way.  Positive thinking leads to positive actions that propels us to complete our goals. 

Below are few tips to help you build a positive thinking attitude.

1. Expect Great Things to Happen to You:

Think about success in everything you do; think about wealth and anything positive. Don't just imagine them happening, have a complete belief that they will come to pass.  There is a saying, "Prepare for the worst but hope for the best."  Consistently preparing for tomorrow will help you succeed today.  So, I say prepare for the best and believe it will happen.

2. Eliminate Negative Thoughts

Whenever you start being pessimistic about something, just relax, take a deep breath, and then replace any negative thought with a positive one.  We're so accustomed to the same thoughts that we've been telling ourselves for years so it's going to take work to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.  Find a power phrase that you connect with and use it when negative thoughts start to infiltrate your mind.  For example, when I start to think negative and feel like things aren't working out I quickly revert to my power phrase which is "If God is for me no man can stand against me."  This phrase makes me feel that no matter what happens in life I can conquer it.

3. Surround Yourself with Positive People

People with negative mindsets drain you daily and deter you from achieving your potential in life. This may be very hard if your best friend is a negative Nancy. The more we associate with positive thinking people, the more positive we will become in our thinking, and the more successful we will be in life.

4. Think it, believe it, See it!

Before you start a new activity or project, visualize the positive results you want to achieve from that project. Do not by any means let fear grip you, or visualize failures in the project if you do that, your fears will actually come to pass and the project will fail as visualized.  See it, believe it, and you will achieve it.

5. Destroy The “I Can Not” Mentality

I want you to understand that everything is possible through optimism. Stop saying “I can’t” and start saying “I CAN.” You may ask, what about saying, “I think I can?” My answer to that is NO! Do not say, “I think I can,” the ONLY thing you should say is "I CAN!" Once again, we can do anything if we are optimistic.

FINDING SUCCESS THROUGH POSITIVE THINKING

Here's a story about two men who approached the same situation with differently.

Rock and Benjamin applied for a new job, but Rock never had a positive thought about himself; he felt like a failure; “Other applicants are more qualified than me,” kept repeating in his mind. All through the week preceding the interview, Rock occupied himself with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job.

On the day of the interview, he woke up only to find out that the shirt he was supposed to wear to the interview was dirty, and the other one not ironed. He was running late so he had to skip breakfast and went to the interview wearing a wrinkled shirt.

When he was being interviewed, he was tense because of his fears and negativity, self-conscious about his shirt, and hungry – he couldn't concentrate on the interview, therefore, performed very poorly. In the end, his fears became a reality as he did not get the job.

On the other hand, Benjamin did exactly the opposite of what Rock did – he had POSITIVE thoughts about himself; he believed he was better and more qualified than the other applicants even though he had no idea who the other applicants were.  A day before the interview he prepared his clothes and kept them in good condition; he got a good night’s sleep; awoke early and ate breakfast and arrived to the interview early.

Benjamin gave a good impression of himself and his positivity and preparation made him confident, vibrant and smart – in the end, Benjamin got the job.

What we learned from Rock and Benjamin is that the way we think affects the way we behave; and ultimately, the way people see you.  Simply put, we bring about what we think about. Stay positive!

CELEBRATE WITH GRATEFULNESS

PROVERBS: 3:27

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them.

 

100 Words of Gratitude "Gratitude Heals"

Healing with gratitude. 

 

     We do not heal the past by dwelling there; we heal the past by living and embracing the present.  The past can be full of pain and unpleasant memories.  Activating the gratitude mentality can start the process of healing the scars of the past. Say thank you to those who deserve it.  When you get out of bed, say a prayer of thanks for waking up and the opportunity to live.  Gratitude comforts the soul.  It smothers like a hug, feels as sweet as a kiss, and is as soft as a plush blanket.  Envelop yourself in gratefulness, it heals. 

 

100 Words of Gratitude "Life"

100 Words of Gratitude

“Life”

Put Positivity on AutoPilot!

I actively practice the attitude of gratitude daily.  I verbally express my gratitude to God and the Universe for the privilege of living and breathing each and every day.  I am grateful for every breath that I take, for every step I am able to walk, and for being alive each day.  It can be easy to fall into the "I didn't ask to be born" mentality.  I choose to be of the mindset that I am blessed to have been born.   Life is a precious gift and a blessing that I am grateful for.  An attitude of gratitude heals.