It’s a fact that we all get stressed from time to time – stress is one of those 21st century modern afflictions that weaves itself into each of our lives at some time or other, to varying degrees.
In reality, so long as we have children, parents, husbands and wives, partners, extended family, jobs, homes, mortgages, in fact, so long as we are alive – on this earth – the perfect life can be elusive and we find ourselves having to cope with stress-related problems from time to time.
Do you dream and wonder what it would be like to be rich, talented, and debt-free, have perfect children, the ideal relationship, a fantastic job that you LOVE, a home you adore, regular holidays and stacks of cash in the bank?
At peace with the world
Surprise, Surprise! You are not alone. We all dream of the perfect life with no stress whatsoever. Stress makes us uncomfortable, unhappy, downright miserable, and even angry and belligerent. It makes us tired, drained of energy, and weepy; all the things we don’t want to know about. It rarely acts as a motivator because `stress’ differs from that contrasting life factor, `challenge,’ in just about every way imaginable.
For instance, a challenge is something that motivates us to do better, achieve greater things, overcome the odds, meet a deadline, or simply just get the job done right, whereas stress upsets our mental balance and, to varying degrees, affects our ability to function at a reasonable level.
So, what is the answer to living a stress-free, perfect life? Unfortunately, there is no `one’ answer. Fortunately, unless we are clinically depressed, where medical treatment and advice is recommended, stress can be overcome simply and effectively by changing a few things in the way we do things.
Here are three of the most important and effective ways to change our lives and overcome stress.
1) Diet: It has been proven over and over that a poor and unhealthy diet affects mental well-being. For example, an overweight person, by changing their eating habits i.e. cutting out fast foods, being conscious of and selecting more healthy food options, drinking more water, avoiding carbonised drinks such as coke that is loaded with sugar, having a balance of carbohydrates and protein, joining a club such as Weight Watchers or going to a nutritionist for a personalised diet, can improve their whole outlook on life and reduce their stress level just by losing some excess weight (that is often the cause of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and any number of other health issues).
2) Exercise: It’s a well known fact that if we want to lose weight and overcome stress we need exercise. The wonder of exercise is that it helps the body produce these amazing things called pheromones, a sort of `happiness chemical,’ that lifts the spirits and inspires even more exercise.
Far from being an ongoing unpleasant must-do chore, once the pheromones kick in, exercise often becomes an exciting want-to-do, mustn’t miss, part of the exerciser’s day. Therefore, controlled diet plus regular exercise = happier, healthier, more positive you.
Exercise can take the form of a daily walk or bike ride in the fresh air, a gym routine, swimming, weight-lifting, or whatever other exercise or combination of, that suits your lifestyle the best. It will not only help in the shedding of unsightly and often uncomfortable pounds, but it will tone the body, freeing it of flab and fat and create a more flattering look.
It’s time to get serious about a less stressful lifestyle and do the work that’s needed. Before you know it, back fat will be a thing of the past and slim, toned and happy will be the new you.
3) Positive-Thinking: There are oodles of books and tapes on the market, designed to retrain the brain to thinking on a higher, more positive, level.
If you are determinedly and constantly thinking positively about your life and the things and people in it, stress will find itself losing its grip on the steering wheel of your mind – the engine room of your inner self – and a whole new you will emerge, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Taking control does not mean that stress is gone forever – sometimes other people bring it along on their coat tails – but it does mean that stress will never take over because we know that it is not good for us, it does not help in any way, achieves nothing but bad results, and can only affect our health adversely.