There are two types of stress that live in my life….the stressful situations that I can change and the ones that I cannot change. The stress that I cannot change is more difficult of course to deal with than the things that I can change.

For stress that I cannot change (the weather, other people, etc) I have learned to have coping techniques instead of problem solving skills. I am a problem solver so this is a difficult challenge for me, however, I have learned to let go of the things I cannot control and instead focus on what I can. For example, I can’t control if my 3 year old is going to throw a tantrum in the middle of Walmart, however, I can control how I parent him, how I respond to him and how I keep my composure. Keeping my composure is the key for keeping my stress level down. Choosing my battles has helped my stress level.

Now for the stress that I can control. I can control the situations I place myself in, the people I am around and how I choose to act towards people. These are things that while they can bring stress, if I pre-plan then I can minimize that stress and ensure that I am in control of my situations. Maintaining control allows me to keep my stress levels down.

Stress is something that lives in my everyday life, something that lives in everyone’s life if they are honest with themselves. It comes down to controlling the stress to be at an acceptable level. Take a deep breath and organize your day, look at where stress might creep up and see how you can eliminate it. Allowing extra time in your schedule to make sure if you get stuck in traffic, the kids do not cooperate or the person in front of you takes too long.

Stress is a natural part of life and we all deal with it. Hopefully you can manage stress but if you need help to manage your stress and get a handle on how things in your life are going, please contact Paul and he will help you!