Dream Big 119

Stress, we all have it, and nobody wants it. It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you do in life, we all have various forms of stress. Some people may be exactly where they want to be in life, have everything they could possibly want, but they too still experience stress in one form or another. Perhaps it may not be as great or as challenging for some, but for everyone else who are either seeking relief from it, or are already on some form of medication for it. Although, there are a few natural ways to combat the stress in your life, and I will only share with you some things that I do, because I too have stress in my life. The number one thing that I have found to help alleviate stress for me is to be aware, and acknowledge what exactly is the root of the stress. This may sound kinda corny but it does work. I write down what is the culprit to my stress. You heard me, write it down. When you put something in writing it has a place that you can physically see with your own eyes, and hold in your hands; giving you the control. Once you know what it is that troubles you, turn it into a checklist, and then create the pros and cons for it. You can then establish a way to remedy the problem, hence giving it a notable solution. It is important to not only be in control of the situation, but also feeling in control lowers, and or can eliminate some of the anxiety you feel about the situation. In the event you are unsure of the cause of the stress, take a few moments to meditate about it, this can also help to put you in control of your bodies reactions to the current state of affliction. The second way I control my stress is through meditation. This may not be for everyone, and it is not a cure for the stress, but it can however act like a bandage until you can mend the wound. I use meditation to discover the root of the infection, and it does help to know what it is I am up against. Yes, of course we may know right away what we are stressing over, it may be bills that are due and we don’t have the funds to pay them, or it may be work related, family related, and those are just a few possibilities. Even if meditation can not fix the problem, it can however give us a little time to calm down, assess the situation, and then find a way to resolve it with a clear and open mind. One of the most important things to understand is that when you are frazzled about anything the problem can sometimes become worse. If you keep a chill attitude about it, no matter how hard it may be to do; you will find a better way to find a solution. In the event you cannot chill, remove yourself from the current events, and find a distraction with something else in order for your mind to busy itself with other things besides what your current focus is on. The third and final way I deal with my stress is through exercise. I absolutely love to walk, and my morning workouts. They have not only become an instrument of my self-esteem, but I can also focus on what my body needs instead of allowing stress to consume all of my energy. When you deplete yourself from positive energy it literally causes a system shutdown. Before I became aware of what my body needed; I was slowly destroying it. I allowed every little thing to bother me because I had larger, more stressful issues that were troubling me. Currently, I am not without those same reoccurring problems; I am just handling them differently than I was before. I went through a phase of constant struggle with myself, fear and doubt were keeping me from obtaining my goals. I was feeding into the stress with alcohol, retail therapy, and other really bad habits; all of which I could not afford, both financially, and mentally. In truth it didn’t make me feel any better; it was only a temporary relief from what really ailed me. At this point in my life I was depressed on so many levels about so many things; it was effecting my weight, my attitude towards things, my sleep that I wasn’t having, and it was hurting me physically. When you have aches and pains in places you cannot see or mend, the only way to fix it is by more of the things that only give a temporary relief. A cycle that is hell to break. Years go by in an instant when all you do is relive your mistakes over and over again until you stop to realize that this isn’t working. You start to believe that you have only two options, one is to kill yourself, and try again in the next life, or you stop the erratic behavior and face the problems head on. This was not an easy task for me, but I overcame the abuse I was inflicting on myself. Once I regained control, I finally asked myself what was it was that I really wanted out of life, and then all the answers came to me. The answers were quite simple, and are almost comical now that I think about it. I had to choose what truly would make me happy over the things that I knew where only a temporary relief. We are easily distracted with monetary items such as cars, electronics, video games, clothing, or shopping for all the above. Unfortunately, we are sometimes drawn to the temporary relief brought on by drugs and alcohol, which makes it even more dangerous than retail therapy. You can overcome all of these things if you are aware of what you want or will make you truly happy. It is in fact much harder to decide that if drugs, alcohol, or any other substance abuse is involved, but it can be done. The most important thing that helped me to move forward from what was holding me back is discovering who I really was deep down inside, and what made me truly happy. I knew that buying the latest whatever, be it clothes, or shoes, wasn’t the key to my happiness, nor was it my goal to ruin my liver. Knowing that none of these things will open doors for you, are the first signs you’re headed in the right direction. The road to success is not paved in retail malls, and liquor stores. The only way to alleviate the stress in your life is to overcome what causes it. Do not ignore or feed into your problems, meditate to find out what they are, exercise to take your mind off of things, and then discover how to eliminate the stress from your life. No matter how difficult things may seem to be, don’t give up on fighting for you. Make responsible choices to resolve the problem, find a solution that works for you, discover what will bring happiness to your life, and always dream big.