“Stress is killing me,” you might be thinking. You are biting your fingernails, shaking your legs and you have no clue how to handle yourself. Most likely you are dealing with a great amount of stress. Nowadays, in a society in which there are so many things that you “have to” do, you do not find many opportunities to rest. Stress is taking its toll on you, and you have no idea how to deal with it.

From bringing the kids to school to reaching your deadlines at work to keeping the household intact. Where do you start and how do you not get affected by the daily stresses of life? Here are a few tips to help you avoid stress as much as possible if not completely.

1. Organize, apply time management, and reduce stress

Start to organize your life and write down everything that is on your mind. This can relate to the things that matter, and to the things that do not matter. Make a definition between those two. What makes your life richer and provides you with the most fruitful outcome? Stressing over small things like, does somebody like me or am I good enough, won’t help you get any further.

Create an overview of what matters divided by what does not matter as much, and plan mindfully. Then write down how much time you need for each and every task. When you write down what your concerns are, your goals, and your daily tasks, you get a better understanding of what is really important and how you can deal with what in a day.

Make it realistic and do not set the expectations too high. If your expectations are too high, there is a chance of failing which can lead to low moods and eventually a burn-out. Let’s not get this far.

2. What causes most of your stress?

Now you have organized your time schedule and written down all your thoughts, defining what takes most of your stress time. What do you worry about most? Does this really matter to the individual that you are? Asking yourself questions makes you more aware of yourself and the impact you would like to have on this planet.

Most likely, the things that stress you out most, matter the least. Put yourself first, not in a selfish way, but in a healthy way. If you do not take care of yourself first, you can’t help others in the process. What would help you more, a manager who is stressed or a manager who has their daily practices in order? The same applies to a mother, the best effect on your child will be when you are calm and in tune with who you are.

3. Stressing about stress nah, create worthiness

When you put more focus on what you stress about, you emphasize your energy on the wrong things. If you say you are afraid of failing, you put your energy into failing. Say instead that you can do it.

When you are spending time stressing, the calm person next to you is much further than you are. You become an unconscious procrastinator in life, which will postpone the wonderful things that the universe has in mind for you.

Talent is in each and every one of us, do not consider yourself unworthy. Worst case you do fail, but then you start to know a reason for how to not do it.

See everything in a positive light, you can’t have everything in one go. Life would be completely boring if that were the case. Working towards your goals provides you with strength, perseverance, and newly developed skills.

4. Develop a greater perspective of life

When you read a sentence once, it might come across as very different than when you read it 10 times. You can get so much more meaning from the same sentence. Try to see life the same way, there are many perspectives and motivations for doing something. Nothing is a failure, all is a win. What a positive thought, isn’t it?

There are various ways of seeing an angry person. You can see them right now, acting in the moment. Does that mean they always are like that? Does it define their character? Maybe they are never angry, but they just had a really bad day. Their mood might switch an hour later.

Try to dig deeper and understand other people, when you have a greater understanding of life, you will reduce the stress towards yourself and other people. If you let others affect you, you punish yourself, not them.

5. Approach stress positively, with mindfulness

Do not punish yourself for feeling stressed. Rather take the emotion in and observe why it is there. What you can do to change your stressful mood is to take yourself out of it for a moment. Breathe in deeply from the lower belly.

Make sure that when you inhale, your lower belly goes out and when you exhale you empty your stomach of air. Breathe in as if you are inhaling wonderful healing life force, and breathe out what is no longer necessary. Just focus on your breathing. You can do this anywhere. To increase the effect you can do it outside in nature, meditate, or both.

Become mindful of yourself and let go of stress. Stress will only keep you from what you really want to achieve. If you take it easy, you will see how much easier life is. There is no way, you can do more then possible. Stop beating yourself up for it.

6. Believe that the universe has the right timing for you

Have some childlike faith. Do not always assume the worst, everything will be okay for you. If you are going through a rough time, that is because you need to change something in your life. This is eventually always for the better.

If you are not listening to your intuition, and missing the signs of the universe, there will be some harder measures. Your mind always tricks you into knowing much more than your inner being. That is not true, what you think is good for you, might not always be the best for you. Deep down you know. There is a creative being within you, that wants to show itself to the world.

Do not claim yourself to be less than anyone else. We are all here for a reason, talents are there for you to be explored. Even if you think some things might not provide you with money, then do not stress about it and start it as a hobby. After all, it is something you love to do.

7. Stop resisting, filter, and start flowing

There might be many options in life. Even in the supermarket, you have so many choices, you do not know what to pick. However, making the healthy choice between pizza and vegetables is clear. You will never feel bad after eating vegetables, you most likely feel less satisfied after eating a whole pizza.

Treat yourself once in a while, but filter what is important for you in that moment. Choose the healthy options over the unhealthy ones. I am not talking about just food here, I am talking about people, situations, and jobs.

Stop resisting what you think is right. Let it go, stay positive and you will automatically attract the right situations your way, may it be money, love, and/or friendships. You deserve good things, do not talk yourself out of what should be right for you. Let the universe decide that for you. Let life happen and flow with the waves

8. Most stress is not real

Yes, everyone most stress that you are experiencing is not real. Are you in danger? Is this a matter of life and death? Most probably it is not. Stress is something that is in our inner being to help us in dangerous situations. However, when you have to go to the supermarket, to your job, and maintain a family is not a death threat. Even though for some of you it might feel this way.

You are not a primitive cave human anymore. Most of you are lucky to live in a society where there is no real danger. You do not always have to watch your back. Try to calm down and breathe, you are still alive and if you believe in yourself, there is nothing you can’t conquer. You have already come this far. Do not distract yourself from all the potential that lies within you.

Embrace that sometimes life is a bit more difficult and accept the challenge. If you see it like that, life is much more fun. How do I overcome this now this time? When you do. You are the master creator of your own reality.

Conclusion Stress is killing me

Incorporating these strategies into your life can transform the way you perceive and handle stress, leading to a more balanced, productive, and joyful existence. Remember, the journey to managing stress is a personal one, and what works for one person may not work for another. The goal is to find your unique path to a less stressful and more fulfilling life. By believing in yourself and embracing a positive, proactive approach, you can navigate through stress and emerge stronger and more capable. Let’s not allow stress to dictate our lives; instead, let’s master it and thrive.

Good for you! I believe in you and let no one else tell you otherwise. All that is on your path followed by honesty, and hard work is well-earned and well-deserved. All at the right time.

I wish you all the best and much love,

Michelle
The Mindful Magazine