The better we are at managing our stress, the less stress we have! I’m not only talking about the stress we are currently managing or removing. That’s a kind of a no brainer.
Stress – Stress = Less Stress
This post is an attempt to articulate a compound effect that I have observed through working on myself and with others. I would like to highlight the “potential stress” that we are no longer adding when we choose to manage our stress properly.
Have you ever noticed how, when you are already frustrated/stressed out, somehow you manage to bang your knee on piece of furniture? Your clothing or bag strap finds a way to get caught on the door knob?
Stress seems to attract more Stress. The stress triggers are seemingly rigged against us no matter what space we enter.
Trapped in a State of Stress, we tend to lash out at people and situations, which we often regret. Then we have the additional stress and problems to deal with from the fallout of each one of those explosions.
We are not only cognitively compromised under stress, as the stress response literally pulls blood from the thinking part of the brain, but we are also becoming little stress magnets and little stress generators. Small meaningless triggers that would have normally breezed right past us unnoticed, on a good day; all of a sudden become significant and taxing when we are already stressed out.
Stress creates a sensitivity to all sorts of stimuli. One may even take offense to someone’s genuinely nice compliment, thinking it to be sarcasm.
Unmanaged stress appears to have a compounding effect solely in a negative way. Which means if there is an equal and opposite reaction to everything in the universe, there is excitement to be had when we think about the positive benefits that can come from managing stress properly.
It pays dividends to invest our time in our mental health. Stress Management can make our lives richer than we could ever imagine.
Just like it compounds in negative way when unmanaged; managed stress also compounds, but in a good way!
When we begin expending effort, removing and managing stress; small things that once appeared stressful now disappear from our minds eye.
We will also begin to enjoy more about life because our attention shifts to being present in the moment instead of dwelling on the negatives inside of our minds.
We can’t stop all of stress triggers, but once we get a proper management system in place for the big stress, we will reduce most of our other stress triggers. When finding the proper stress management system for you, I highly recommend sampling a variety of techniques and tools.
In fact, in any situation of your life that is of importance, I would recommend seeking a multitude of counsel/information. Gathering up as many different views and tools, trying them out to see if they fit. Making sense of our actions and the meaning behind them is the only way to motivate ourselves to do them.
Doing things we don’t believe in most likely won’t garner any worthy or lasting results. So, it is really important to figure out what tools fit into our specific tool box. Think about the architect, the doctor and the auto mechanic. Each of them use tools and have knowledge on how to use them. They also have a belief in the tool itself, for it is the right tool to get the job done. A top of the line level can’t help the auto-mechanic change a tail light.
Being prepared to manage stress, in of itself, also has a benefit of reducing stress; as it gives you a confidence boost knowing that you are prepared to cope with what ever stress life throws your way!
Less Stress = Less Stress²