Stress is such a pervasive part of life anymore that some people exist in an ongoing state of “fight or flight.” This is an extremely dangerous condition both emotionally and physically. Prolonged hyper adrenal activity will literally burn you out in a big way.

As much as I appreciate articles on ways to unwind and relax after a stressful day, I think there is another issue that should also be addressed. Instead of just dealing with stress it is also important to get to the source of the problem, and to look for ways to eliminate stress before it even happens.

How can we do that?

By careful editing of your life, and by changing certain habits, you can greatly reduce feelings of stressfulness in your life. First off though, let’s forget about the concept of a totally stress free life. Why? Because some stress is unavoidable and must be dealt with, and because controlled amounts of stress can actually be very beneficial.

Stress is a response to challenges in life, and challenges create the environment for accomplishment and personal growth. In fact, a life without challenges is too boring to contemplate. However, I do believe that much of the stress we experience is unnecessary, and that it can be eliminated.

12 ways to cut unnecessary stress out of your life

1. Identify sources of stress. Identifying the things that leave you feeling stressed out unnecessarily is the first step toward eliminating them. Take a few minutes to think about what stresses you out during the day. What weekly occurrences create irritation or anxiety? What people or activities cause undo tension in your life? Make a Top 10 sources of stress list and see which of them can be eliminated, and start to weed them out. For those that can’t be eliminated, look for ways to make them less stressful.

2. Eliminate unnecessary commitments. We all wear many different hats and have commitments in a variety of areas. But when we spread ourselves too thin because we’ve taken on too many commitments, feeling stressed is the inevitable result. We should view each commitment in relation to the level of value it provides compared to the amount of pressure it creates. If the stress outweighs the value then something needs to change. Why not review all of your commitments according to these criteria and take steps to eliminate the ones that score too high on the stress-o-meter?

3. Disorganization. We’re all disorganized to some extent. Even if we’ve organized something, and created a great system for keeping it that way, things tend to move toward chaos over time. Eventually, disorganization happens and disorganization is stressful. For example, clutter makes it difficult to find the thing we need to be productive.  This is one that I struggle with, so I know firsthand that having to stop what I am doing to search for something can create loads of unnecessary stress. Taking the time to get things organized is always a better use of our energies.

4. Running late. Being late is always a source of internal tension. When we are late then we can’t enjoy the process because we are too busy rushing around trying to catch up. Being early makes everything more enjoyable and completely eliminates this source of unnecessary tension. Being late is often the result of underestimating the amount of time required for some or all of the things we need to do. Try padding your schedule with an extra 10 minutes here and there to make it more realistic. One of the best places to gain the advantage is to go to bed earlier so you can get up earlier.

5. Multitasking. Having multiple tasks going on at the same time might seem productive, but in actuality it slows us down and destroys our ability to really focus. When we have to continually refocus our attention it disrupts the work flow and creates unnecessary pressure in our life. Wherever possible avoid the temptation to multitask.

6. Eliminate energy drains. As you analyzed your life to identify the things that stress you out, you probably also noticed some things that drain your energy. Let’s face it, certain things in life just cause us to be more exhausted than others, often with less value. Identify them and cut them out. You’ll have much more energy and feel much less stressed.

7. Avoid difficult people. You know who they are. If you take a minute to think about it, you can identify all the people in your life — bosses, coworkers, customers, friends, family, etc. — who make your life more difficult. Now, you could confront them and do battle with them, but it would probably just make things even worse. Circumstances may not allow you to cut them all out of your life, but do it where you can. Simply reducing the number of difficult people in your life will go a long way in your efforts to reduce stressful influences in your life.

8. Help others. It may sound contradictory to add more tasks to your life by trying to help other people, especially since you already have more than enough to do.  But if you were to add anything to your life, this should be it. Helping others, on any level not only gives you a very good feeling, it somehow lowers your stress level.

9. Pause to relax during the day. It’s important to take mini-breaks during your work day. Stop what you’re doing, get up and stretch, walk around, drink some water. Go outside and appreciate the fresh air and the beautiful sky. Talk to someone you like. Life doesn’t have to be all about productivity. Avoid using online activity too much as a way to counteract your routine. It is much better to get away from the computer for a few minutes of active relaxation.

10. Get plenty of exercise. This is common advice for stress relief, and that’s because it works. In addition to relieving stress, exercise also helps prevent it. A fit person is better equipped to handle stressful situations and can avoid many health related situations that create stress on several levels. Fitness is an excellent way to reduce stress and to raise your tolerance levels.

11. Eat healthy. Obviously, this goes hand-in-hand with exercise as a stress prevention method. The healthier you are the less stressful life will feel. Food has a direct influence on your ability to cope with challenges. Good nutrition has both a calming and an energizing effect. Mental clarity and cognitive function are also nutrition related. Think of good food and exercise as an anti-stress prescription.

12. Practice gratitude. This might not be as obvious as some of the others, but developing and maintaining the attitude of gratitude is an extremely powerful antidote to stress. By helping to eliminate negative thinking, gratitude and appreciation give you incredible leverage against negative influence of stressful thoughts and feelings. The more grateful you are, the more you will notice and appreciate the positive side of life. In the presence of a grateful heart stress gets swept away and replaced with joy.

Take action and enjoy the benefits

Implementing even one of these tips into your life can make a significant difference in your stress levels. Why not start with the one that seems easiest for you, and then gradually add the others. Remember, much of the stress in life can be eliminated or reduced. The benefits you receive will be well worth the effort required.

Do you have some anti-stress tips to share?
How stressed out do you feel?
The lines are open!

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

Nature has the amazing ability to restore our sense of inner peace. When was the last time you immersed yourself in the natural world away from the stress and pressure of your everyday life?

I think “unwind” is an accurate description of the effect that nature has on us when we give it a chance. The pace of modern life can easily get us all wound up. We call that stress, right? Well, nature is a great antidote for stress and, in fact, it’s one of my very favorites.

3 Days of active unwinding

Every September my wife and I, along with our daughter and her husband, take a short vacation to Sunriver, Oregon. It’s a beautiful, low key resort community 15 miles south of Bend on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. The setting is pine trees, lava rocks, lots of black tail deer, miles of bike trails, and the beautiful Deschutes River.

We always take our bikes along and on the warm years we also bring kayaks. This year our focus was on biking and I wanted to share one of our favorite trails with you. In Sunriver the Deschutes River is wide and peaceful, but downstream it gets a lot more active.

As it turns out, Benham falls is not a waterfall, but a series of impressive rapids. I love the roar of rapids and feel totally invigorated and stress free whenever I am around them. The ride was about 3 hours and I wanted to share some photographic highlights with you.

Following the river downstream from Sunriver

x

x

x

x
x
x
X

Create your own freedom from stress  tradition

Sunriver has become a family tradition for us. It takes less than 4 hours to get there and it’s something we really look forward to. I encourage you to create your own freedom from stress tradition so nature can work its restorative wonders on you.

We only go for 3 or 4 nights so the expense of renting a comfortable house with a hot tub and barbecue is very manageable, and the rewards are priceless. We were made to be at peace in nature. If you are feeling a bit wound up, may I suggest letting nature unwind your stress for you. Works for us every time!

Does your family have a favorite getaway?
Where do you go to unwind and connect with nature?
The lines are open!

Did you enjoy this article? Sign up for free email or RSS updates!

There is no doubt that stress is taking a tremendous toll on people’s health, relationships, and quality of life. Doctors now feel that more than 80% of all illness is stress related. I am so surprised that more people don’t take advantage of simple, natural, inexpensive solutions like this one.

Stress comes in many forms and enters our lives through a multitude of channels. How can we deal with such a pervasive force?

Clearly, there is no singular solution to such a complex issue, but there are simple steps that work well in the war against stress.

Every single day dozens of people come to this blog looking for ways to overcome or counteract the stress they are experiencing. I hope this helps!

100 of my favorite stress busters

1. Forgive yourself for every mistake you’ve ever made.
2. Forgive others for their offenses against you.
3. Stop obsessing over things you can’t control.
4. Take breaks often to clear you mind.
5. Do one thing at a time.
6. Stop over analyzing and start doing.
7. Stop judging what others do or don’t do.
8. Learn to say no and really mean it.
9. Only add to your “to do” list after crossing 2 things off.
10. When you buy something new, get rid of something old.

11. Give yourself some sincere approval.
12. Stop being a perfectionist and move on.
13. Let go of trying to control everything.
14. Don’t get emotionally invested in every little thing.
15. Quit agonizing over decisions you’ve made. It’s a done deal.
16. Remember that almost everything is temporary.
17. Ask yourself: Will it matter in 3 years? If not, let it go.
18. Find reasons to laugh out loud several times a day.
19. Stop taking things personally, it’s not always about you!
20. Use Touchstone Triggering to enhance the positive.

21. Don’t compare yourself to others. Life is not a contest.
22. Smile at everyone!
23. Start every conversation with a positive thought.
24. Don’t worry about things that haven’t happened yet.
25. Quit reacting like everything is an emergency.
26. Exercise every single day!
27. Don’t trade sleep for work.
28. Eat for nourishment not for comfort.
29. Express gratitude for the small things you appreciate.
30. Choose walking over driving whenever possible.

31. Do things that connect you with the earth.
32. Put up a bird feeder and become a bird watcher.
33. Don’t watch the news, especially when you are eating.
34. Listen to music that calms your soul and carries you away.
35. Get an answering machine or service.
36. Alarm clocks are rude, learn to wake up naturally.
37. Go to the beach or river and soak up the negative ions.
38. Do something nice just for you every single day.
39. Do something nice for someone else every single day.
40. Tell the people you love how you feel daily.

41. Count your blessings every morning and every night.
42. Eliminate unnecessary commitments.
43. Don’t allow others to make you feel pressured.
44. Stop creating unnecessary drama in your life.
45. Take 10 slow, deep breaths every hour on the hour.
46. Help others whenever it is within your power to do so.
47. Consciously relax every muscle in your body at bed time.
48. Turn off the “problem solver” 2 hours before bed time.
49. As soon as you wake up, do a gratitude review.
50. Play with your children or pets every day.

51. Laugh at yourself.
52. Be early for everything so you don’t feel rushed.
53. Make peace of mind a high priority in your life.
54. Find ways to express your creativity regularly.
55. Do an hourly brain dump for 30 seconds. Let it all go.
56. Hang out with happy, light hearted people.
57. Never complain. If something bothers you take action.
58. Don’t use words like stressed out, worried, or pressured.
59. Never rush through a meal. Savor every bite.
60. Maintain you energy levels and you will stress less.

61. Reduce spending and work toward being debt free.
62. Lighten your material load. More stuff = more stress!
63. Practice unplugging from the electronic world.
64. Read for pleasure and relaxation.
65. Exchange massages with someone.
66. Inhale calm, exhale tension.
67. Identify and eliminate energy drains.
68. Don’t flog your adrenals with more coffee, get some rest.
69. Actively interact with positive people as much as you can.
70. If it’s not your problem get out of the way (like tailgaters).

71. Get a hobby that completely captures your focus.
72. Never respond to or repeat gossip, it will backfire.
73. Only project positive thoughts into your future.
74. Be realistic with the demands you put on yourself.
75. Take care of your health, 90% of illness is stress related.
76. Don’t over focus on potential (imaginary) problems.
77. Maintain an optimistic perspective.
78. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
79. Be reasonable about scheduling your time.
80. Accept that everything takes longer than you think.

81. Use applied focus sessions to create more free time.
82. Stop trying to do everything yourself. Get some help.
83. Never argue with ignorance it will only frustrate you.
84. Adopt a stress free attitude because it’s all perception.
85. Remember that negative life lessons have great value.
86. Counter stress with positive words and actions.
87. When you’re feeling down take time to help other people.
88. Get rid of anything or anyone that makes you miserable.
89. Control over expectation to avoid disappointment.
90. Remember; first come the fear then the blessing.

91. Don’t stress out trying to get everyone to agree with you.
92. Stay away from the negative what if syndrome.
93. Seize every opportunity to be encouraging to others.
94. Live in the present instead of longing for the past.
95. View challenges as opportunities to minimize stress.
96. Unchain Yourself from conventional thinking myths
97. Multitasking creates stress and lowers productivity, don’t do it.
98. Believe that if it doesn’t kill you it will make you stronger.
99. Harness the anti-stress Power of Your Emotional Vocabulary.
100. Life isn’t always fair but it is still a gift, practice gratitude.

Okay, there’s mine!
How about sharing some of your favorite anti stress strategies.

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

What if you could take stress and turn it into success. Wouldn’t that be a better way to use your energy? Sometimes a simple shift in the way we direct our energy and focus can radically alter the way we experience life.

Often times, we don’t really need more time and energy. We just need to shift the way we are using what we already have. Let’s look at three specific ways that we can create such a shift.

Accept the fact that some things can’t be changed

We can’t change the past, period. Worrying about it will only create stress. One of the best things you can do for yourself is accept that fact. Everything that has happened in your life up to this point is history, it’s completely unchangeable. One of the biggest ways to waste your time and energy is to fret over the past; it’s gone so let it go.

Looking back at missed opportunities won’t recreate them. Feeling guilty over past mistakes doesn’t serve you. Harboring any kind of negative energy toward yourself or others over things that have already happened will only leave you feeling drained and frustrated. It is a complete waste of vital force to hang on to any negative emotional anchors from the past.

Try this: Make a list of any past events, situations, relationships, or mistakes that you feel bad about. Write them all down along with the negative feelings attached to them. When you are done, read each item and then ask yourself: “What do I need to do to get closure here?” If you need to apologize to someone, go do it. Most of the time all you need for closure is to let it go.

Once you’ve answered that question for each item, tear the list up and throw it, and those negative feelings, away. It’s trash and that’s where you should put it. The next time you are tempted to revisit those feelings or events, tell yourself “no emotional dumpster diving.”

Accept the fact that some things can always be changed

One thing that you can always change is your perception of, and reaction to, everything that happens in your life. It’s your life, you own it and that means that you have the power and the freedom to decide the meaning and value of every experience.

Many people are so locked into reaction mode that they fail to recognize their own ability to control their response. This mindset is a huge source of stress. Nobody makes us mad or happy, we choose those feelings. When we decide to exercise the ability to choose our emotional response, we tap into a huge source of personal power. We are not victims of our circumstances unless we choose to be.

Try this: The next time you feel like “reacting” instead of responding, ask yourself: “What else could this mean?” Then come up with three alternate meanings and choose the one that feels the most empowering. Now respond to that. Doing this will transform a stressful reaction into a successful response.

Don’t let other people’s problems become your problems

Some people are just a disaster looking for a place to happen. One way to avoid getting stressed out along with them is to simply get out of their way. If someone is in a bad mood, do your best to stay away from them. If the driver behind you is tailgating, pull over and let them pass. It’s their problem, but taking it personally will make it your problem too.

If you go out to eat and there are loud, obnoxious people next to you, change tables. If someone tries to vent their anger at you, excuse yourself without taking personal offense. By staying alert to potentially dangerous situations you will be able to avoid them most of the time.  You can’t control the way other people behave, but you can control whether or not you allow their problems to become your problems.

Try this: Review the most common scenarios where you have allowed other people to stress you out. Now devise an alternate strategy that you can use the next time that situation arises. Make sure it is a strategy that allows you to remain emotionally neutral. Rehearse that strategy in your mind so you can easily implement it next time.

Choose success over stress

As you can see, we all have opportunities to redirect our personal resources toward success and away from stress. Isn’t it great that we each have the power to choose where our energy will go and how it will be used?

Do you use any of these strategies personally?
Do you have a favorite way to avoid stress and create success?
The lines are open!

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

Have you got endless demands tugging at you from all directions? Does your life seem to be spinning out of control? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and stressed out when you can’t ever seem to catch up.

Do you think bringing your life into balance would require a major life change? It may not be as difficult as what you imagine.  Did you realize that, regardless of your circumstances, a true sense of balance actually comes from within you, not from your surroundings?

3 Ways to reduce feelings of stress

Here are three simple strategies to help you reduce feelings of stress by building a greater sense of inner peace and harmony.

1) Make some time for you. One of the first things we tend to sacrifice when we are busy is our personal time.  Instead, we devote all of our energy and attention to being productive and taking care of those never-ending demands. Over time this depletes our energy and we begin to feel more and more burdened by our responsibilities. This feeling of being weighed down increases our perceived level of stress.

To create a greater sense of balance, having some quiet time to your self is essential.  You may be thinking: “I don’t have any time available for that,” but something amazing happens when you regularly make some personal time; you find yourself feeling happier and more energetic, your focus improves – and you still get plenty done!  Just a few minutes spent doing something that you truly enjoy can help restore your inner sense of peace and happiness.

2) Look after your personal well being. Beyond making time for things you enjoy, there are many other practical ways to balance your life on a daily basis.  Getting enough sleep so you actually feel rested is a great start. Replacing fast food with nutritious food and getting some form of daily exercise will make a huge difference.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re really tired or stressed, even the smallest problem can seem like a nightmare?  On the other hand, when you’re feeling well rested and centered, you’re much better able to handle those little ups and downs.  Caring for your physical needs is one sure way to consistently replenish your energy and emotional resource levels. This means that you’ll have the strength, patience, and stamina to handle daily challenges without getting stressed out.

3) Give yourself some leeway. Did you know that one of the biggest causes of stress is rigid expectations?  We all do it from time to time; get a mental picture of how our lives “should be” – and get really annoyed when our outer circumstances don’t cooperate!  One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is a flexible state of mind.  In other words, learn how to detach from unrealistic expectations and go with the flow.

When you have a flexible mindset, you’re able to deal with problems much more effectively because you’re not working against a preconceived notion of how things “should be”.  You’re able to tap into your creative problem solving skills and move through challenges without all the drama and frustration. So cut yourself some slack instead of stressing over every detail.

Changing our perspective is a good start

We see that a few minor changes in perspective can dramatically reduce our stress levels and raise our sense of well being and balance, but that’s not the whole solution. Now that you’re feeling more resourceful, you may also want to examine your external circumstances and see if there are some small adjustments you can make to help support your new, more balanced mindset.

Are there ways that you can tweak your schedule or reduce the complexity of your daily routine? Are you caught in multitasking mindset? Have you over committed your time and resources? These are all possible sources of external stress that you might want to examine now that you’ve cleared away some of the internal sources. As is true for most things, balance is the key to overcoming stress and finding greater joy in your day to day life.

Have you sensed an increase in stress in your life?
Do you have some favorite ways to avoid feeling stressed out?
The lines are open!

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

Have you ever noticed how sometimes you will be going along feeling just fine, then all of a sudden, some little thing pushes you right over the edge? That’s how stress usually hits me. I won’t even have a clue that I’m stressed out until I respond inappropriately to something.

Then there are those super resourceful times, you know the ones, when nothing seems to faze you. It’s like you can handle anything without getting the least bit rattled. In fact, I’m like that so much of the time that it really surprises me when I lose it over something trivial.

Why such different reactions to stressful situations?

Have you ever wondered why it is that our reaction to a stressful situation can vary so much? What is it that makes us untouchable one day and vulnerable the next?

Well, there are several factors at work here, but they all have something in common. They all fit into the category of things that can be improved with the application of a few advanced life skills. Granted, we can’t always have an influence on the source of our stress. But we can have a powerful influence on the way it affects us.

Internal resource levels

This is the major variable when it comes to how we respond to something stressful. When we are running low on internal resources we become much more susceptible to the influence of stress. You know the feeling. The feeling that you are being pulled in ten different directions and nothing is working out the way it should.

It doesn’t take very long before your internal resources are stretched to the max in a situation like that. That’s when some little thing pushes you to your tipping point. It’s not that little thing that caused you to wig, it’s everything that came before it. That was just the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

Stress is cumulative

Even small amounts of unresolved stress, applied constantly over a period of time, can tax your resources to the breaking point. This kind of stress is more insidious and will often go unnoticed until we are ready to explode. Think of all the possible sources that might be contributing to this scenario.

One of the reasons we may not notice cumulative stress is because we tend to compartmentalize it. Work stress goes in one internal file, and financial stress goes in another. The problem is, our nervous system feels the cumulative effect. On an emotional level, it all spills over into the same pool, like dozens of tiny streams all flowing into one big lake of tension.

Stress is not always a bad thing

Stress is a reality of life, and believe it or not, that’s not always a bad thing. A manageable amount can be extremely motivating. It’s amazing how much we can accomplish when the right amount of pressure is on.

Have you ever astonished yourself by accomplishing something extraordinary because there was some kind of powerful incentive involved? Whether it was a deadline, a bonus, or a limited window of opportunity, it was still pressure that had this motivating influence on you.

Controlled amounts of pressure make us stronger

When we exercise we expose our bodies to physical stress in a progressive way. As our bodily systems adapt to the new levels of stress, we get stronger. But you wouldn’t want to try to run a marathon or do a 500 pound bench press after two weeks of training. That kind of overload would be a disaster.

Some of the same principals apply emotionally. We can actually raise stress tolerance levels if we go about it progressively. For example, the responsibility of getting married might be perceived as a manageable challenge for a young person. But getting married to a woman with three children might not seem quite so doable. And yet, growing a family progressively feels perfectly normal.

Seeking balance

So how do we manage our exposure to stress so it serves us instead of crushing us? Let’s look at some practical ways to address the sources of pressure we’ve just considered.

1) Internal resourcefulness. As we learn advanced life skills that foster our personal growth, we become more emotionally resourceful. By learning to adjust our perception of the people and events in our life, we actually change the way they register on our nervous system. Perception can be our greatest asset, or our worst liability. We can choose whether something is stressful or not. Yes, this is a learned skill, but it’s the one that determines the quality of our life. That makes it worth learning!

2) Don’t let issues go unresolved. To prevent the accumulation of stress we need to resolve problems as they arise. Instead of wishing things would change, we need to initiate change where possible. If there is friction with others, reach out to resolve it. If some area of your life has become a source of tension, give it some attention. By working on potentially stressful situations as they arise, you stop the cumulative effect before it gets overwhelming.

3) Raise your tolerance. If some big undertaking feels overwhelmingly stressful, break it down into manageable stages. Instead of focusing on the whole project, turn your attention to one piece at a time. In reality, almost every big task is made up of smaller steps performed in a progressive sequence. Training yourself to mentally break things down into smaller components will change your perception from overwhelming to manageable.

Think in terms of less, not more

Filling your life to the brim with productive pursuits is a proven recipe for problems. Don’t feel that “there’s no time” for activities that help you unwind. Regular attention to the relaxing side of life will actually increase your productivity because you will be more resourceful.

Stress is taking a ridiculously high toll on people these days. A huge percentage of physical, mental, and emotional disorders are the direct result of stress. I encourage you to take a serious look at your life and take steps to lower, manage, and resolve the sources of stress you discover. Life is meant to be enjoyed, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This means learning to balance stress so it doesn’t consume us.

Do you have some stress reduction tips to share?
Have you found ways to create balance in this area?
Are you stressed out?
The lines are open!

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

Editors Note: This is a guest post from Vin Miller of Natural Bias
.
Have you ever had a great idea that you were unable to recall after switching your focus to another subject? This is actually quite common, and whether you’re aware of it or not, it’s one of the many consequences and frustrations of multitasking. Unfortunately, the disadvantages of multitasking go much deeper than the frustration of losing a good idea.
.
Multitasking is a Source of Stress
.
As a reader of Advanced Life Skills, you probably already know that humans are inherently bad at multitasking and that it’s a poor strategy for productivity. What you might not realize is that multitasking and frequent interruptions are sources of stress that can have a notable impact on your health and wellbeing.
.
Despite the fact that multitasking is generally regarded as a bad thing by most personal development experts, research has shown that multitasking can increase productivity to some extent which is a likely a result of the mental pressure and sense of urgency that it imposes. However, this pressure is a form of stress and will invoke the physiological stress response. As such, frequent multitasking is a form of chronic stress that over time will promote physical breakdown of your body and compromise your health.
.
Multitasking and focus
.
The human mind works best when focusing on a single thread of thoughts. When we try to focus on multiple unrelated thoughts at the same time, whether by choice or as a result of being interrupted, it becomes difficult to regain focus and remember where we left off. This can be quite frustrating, especially when facing the pressure of a deadline.
.
Even if multitasking does increase productivity, it’s not sustainable as a long term strategy and the benefits would be short lived. Over time, as the resulting stress accumulates and impairs your health, fatigue and mental fogginess will become more prominent, and both productivity and mood will likely decline.
.
Why Stress is Dangerous to Your Personal Development
.
Although there are many aspects of personal development, I consider the most important and foundational ones to be development of character, awareness of values, and pursuit of fulfillment. Without a doubt, these aspects require a lot of dedication and effort. While health is often addressed as a subtopic of personal development, I think too few people appreciate the influence that optimal health can have on the emotional balance, mental clarity, energy, and motivation needed to maximize personal growth.
.
With the busy lifestyle that many of us live, the stress of multitasking is very common. However, this is certainly not the only lifestyle factor that can compromise your health, and in turn, your ability to pursue personal development. As such, it’s important to embrace a well rounded lifestyle that supports health just as much as it supports productivity and mental advancement. After all, you can be in excellent health without having any direction or emotional stability in your life, or you can be in full control of your emotions while being limited by chronic health problems. Why not pursue the best of both worlds?
.
Use Your Values to Reduce the Stress of Multitasking
.
I’m sure most of you are well aware of the importance of knowing your core values and staying congruent with them. However, even for those of us who fully embrace the importance of our values, it’s easy to lose focus of them while engaged in our daily activities. It’s easy to postpone the important but difficult tasks that will help us grow and stay congruent with our values in favor of easier tasks and entertaining distractions. The result is often an empty feeling of not having accomplished our goals for the day which often leads to frustration, stress, and motivation to multitask in order to make up for lost time.
.
Who you are today is the culmination of the many small decisions you’ve made each day throughout your life. If there’s a difference between who you are today and who you want to be years from now, you’ll need to make sure that as many of your future decisions as possible are congruent with your goals. The only way this will happen is if you regularly prioritize the tasks that will be most influential in bringing you closer to your goals and give them the dedicated and uninterrupted attention that they deserve.
.
Avoiding the Stress of Multitasking
.
The following 5 tips are designed to help you reduce your perceived need to multitask.
.
1) Each morning, prepare a task list for the day and prioritize the tasks by importance in relation to your goals and values. Focus on the most important ones first and leave the less important tasks for another day if you run out of time for them.
.
2) Get to work on your most important tasks early in the day so that you don’t run out of time.
.
3) If you’re working on a computer, close down all windows that aren’t necessary for the task at hand, especially things like email, Twitter, Facebook, instant messenger, etc.
.
4) If possible, shut off your cell phone for a while to avoid unnecessary interruption.
.
5) Work in an environment that is conducive to focus. If necessary, isolate yourself from people who might unnecessarily interrupt or distract you.
.
Supporting Your Personal Development with Optimal Health
.
Striving for simplicity is a significant part of personal development for many people, including myself. If you’re not a health nut, the last thing you want is to complicate your life with the inconvenience of implementing healthier habits. To an extent, this additional burden is part of the required commitment to reaching your potential.
.
Resource: Living a healthy lifestyle is not nearly as complicated or laborious as some people make it out to be. If you’d like to learn more about a natural and common sense based approach to living a healthy lifestyle, I suggest that you take advantage of my free course 7 Simple Steps to a Leaner, Happier, and Healthier You!
..
…Vin Miller writes about maximizing life through health, fitness, and perspective.
…You can read more from Vin at his blog Natural Bias
.
How do you feel about multitasking?
Does it increase stress or help you get more done?
The lines are open!
.
Free updates via RSS feed or email
.
.
Related Articles:
Clarity, Focus and Motivation
Do You Have A Plan of Action?
Clarity, Focus and Motivation
Focus – Visualize – Believe – Achieve!
Using Applied Focus Sessions to Boost Productivity

It doesn’t really matter who we are or what we do, from time to time, things go wrong. We can do our best to cover our bases, but sometimes it’s just outside of our control. What’s important is not so much why bad things happen, but how we respond when they do.

Why am I writing about this?

Have you ever had one of those stretches when it’s just one thing after another? Sure you have because it happens to everyone. Well, that’s why I am writing about this because I just went through it. After I tell you about my experience, I want to share some attitude tweaks that can help next time the stuff hits the fan in your life.

Most of us try not to invite challenges (problems) into our lives. When we do have to deal with them, our attitude can definitely influence how we feel about the experience.

It was a normal day until…

I had posted an interview about my book and there was a tremendous amount of interest. Well, that’s a good thing, right? It was gratifying to see thousands of people taking the time to have a closer look. Then someone leaves me a message that the “buy Link” isn’t working. Not exactly what I wanted to hear on that particular day. Doesn’t really sound like a difficult fix, right?

As it happens, I use a very cool software application called DLGuard (download guard) to help prevent online theft. My control panel would only tell me that my files were corrupted and consequently, I couldn’t log on. Long story short, they went into my server and fixed the problem. Evidently, someone had hacked my server and attached some malicious code to the page. So, six hours later the problem was solved.

But wait, what happened to my blog?

You guessed it, the malicious code corrupted my blog theme and left a scrambled mess that I didn’t discover until the next morning. I tried for many hours to do a repair but it wasn’t to be. I finally had to trash it, and then upload and customize a new one.

Well, the whole experience lasted about 24 hours and I have no idea how long the sales link was dysfunctional. This is the second time my site has been hacked and I am told that this kind of thing happens more often than you might think. So we learn from the experience and move on.

Nobody is immune

From heavy equipment operators who get their hydraulic lines slashed, to credit card fraud and natural disasters, sometimes bad things just happen. When they do, it can easily turn your world upside down. The question is, can you get through it without going bonkers?

I have learned some helpful little attitude tweaks that help me in these challenging situations and you may find them useful. Not every point can be applied in every situation, but try to use as many as you can. Here we go…

10 Ways to weather the storm

1. Detach yourself emotionally. Most of the emotions that grow out of negative situations are negative. When you refuse to be engaged emotionally, the situation becomes emotionally neutral. That means that you can deal with it rationally instead of reacting to it emotionally. This also changes how the experience is recorded in your memory and nervous system.

2. Forget about asking why. You can ask why later, for now focus on asking, “how do I meet this challenge?” Your mind loves to solve problems. By asking “how” you are telling your mind that there is a solution to be found. It will immediately go to work looking for the solution. This keeps your focus on creating a positive outcome.

3. Look for the value. There is almost always some value in challenging situations. I learned how to fix my blog theme. If there is a next time I’ll be able to do it in less than an hour. I also learned that DLGuard has excellent customer service. I also took some additional security steps to help lessen the chances of this happening again.

4. Ask for help. We can’t always get ourselves out of a mess. Don’t be afraid to ask those who are more knowledgeable for help or direction. Most of the time they are glad to help or at least point you in the right direction. I am not the most tech savvy guy around, so when I need help, I ask. The willingness of others to lend assistance is heartwarming.

5. Remember, it’s temporary. One way or another, you will get through it. Every situation has a conclusion. Even if it’s not the conclusion you wanted, at least it will be over and you can start from there. If you have to rebuild some aspect of your life, you will probably do it better and faster than you did the last time.

6. As long as you’re at it, upgrade. As it turns out, I was due for an upgrade on my blog theme and my version of DLGuard. Because time was a factor, I couldn’t do those upgrades during the repair, but I am doing them now. So, the end result will put me ahead of where I was. That means I have benefited from the experience.

7. Role play. This is an effective tactic for removing yourself emotionally from a frustrating challenge. Pretend that you have been called in to handle the situation because of you calm and logical demeanor. The person facing the challenge needs someone who is cool and capable, and that’s why you are there.

8. Take rescue remedy. Maybe you’ve never heard of Rescue Remedy, let me tell you this is some good stuff. It’s a flower remedy developed by Dr. Edward Bach. Flower remedies work on a very subtle level to help with a wide array of emotional issues. As you can tell from the name, Rescue Remedy is there to rescue you during periods of emotional stress.

9. Laugh your way through it. Sometimes things get so ridiculous that it’s almost laughable. When that happens, go ahead and laugh. When you laugh at a stressful situation it provides a healthy outlet for your emotions. Laughter is a much better way to release that emotional stress and cope with a challenge than anger is.

10. Don’t take it personal. Sometimes it can feel like you have been singled out to receive more than your share of hardships. Everybody faces more than enough challenges. The universe has not conspired against you. To my knowledge, I haven’t done anything to provoke a hacker to attack my site and whoever did it probably has no idea who I am. Sometimes bad stuff just happens. Taking things personally just leads to excuses and blame and a whole host of other worthless thoughts and emotions. Don’t even go there, just learn to cope with it and move on.

Learning to roll with the punches

I wish I could say that at some point in your personal development bad things will never happen again. That would be nice, but I like to keep it real. How you cope with the challenges we face says a lot about our emotional maturity and true nature. Learning a few simple coping skills can go a long way toward improving the quality of this journey we call life.

How do you cope with your challenges?
Do you have a favorite coping skill?
The lines are open!

Always be up to date with our RSS feed, or email updates.