Controlling STRESS!

How To Keep Stress From Controlling Your Life

Reprinted from LOYALTY LEADER. Debra J. Schmidt, a.k.a. Loyalty Leader, is a professional speaker, corporate trainer and author. She helps companies boost their profits by leading them to greater customer and employee loyalty. Subscribe to her free online newsletter at: www.LoyaltyLeader.com

Feeling stressed is a fact of life. If you don't complain about the amount of stress you're under, you are probably in the minority. After all, everybody is stressed out. Right?

Wrong! Everybody has stress, but not everyone is stressed out. If you're tired of living under too much pressure and are looking for ways to get out from under all the stress, it may be time for you to try some new strategies for managing stress.

There are certainly sources of stress that are beyond your control such as illness, a job loss or other traumatic events. But when these factors are not present, it's important to recognize that much of your stress comes from day-to-day pressures such as work, family obligations, personal problems, financial challenges and commitments. There are some mornings when I'm stressed out before I even get out of bed because I'm overwhelmed just thinking about what lies ahead.

But just because you're under stress does not mean there is nothing you can do to improve your situation. It's time to take charge and making some changes to keep stress from becoming a destructive force in your life. Here are seven tips for breaking away from an unhealthy, stressful lifestyle:

Make a commitment to yourself.

Examine how sincere you are about adopting a new lifestyle. Are you willing to do the work that change requires such as giving up some old habits?

Learn how to say "No."

Resist taking on obligations for every project, meeting or engagement you are asked to participate in. It may be that's how you reached overload in the first place. Before you volunteer your time, evaluate how your "yes" affects other areas of your life. Will it mean that you will spend less time with your family? Will it keep you up at night worrying about how you can get it done?

Set healthy boundaries on your availability.

This means having a realistic understanding of what you can and cannot do, as well as what you are and are not willing to do. The people around you will grow to respect your boundaries. You'll know when you've failed to respect your own boundaries when you view an activity as an intrusion.

Know your stress level.

Some people can handle more stress than others. I know that there are times when I feel my business is under control and everything is running smoothly. It's during those times that I'm more willing to add stress to my life such as a home remodeling project. Limit changes in other areas of your life when you are already feeling overwhelmed.

Stop putting things off.

Keep in mind, the less time you have to get something accomplished, the more pressure you'll feel. If there were ever a sure-fire cure for stress, it's eliminating procrastination. Make a "to-do" list every evening for the next day. It will give you more focus and help you to get things done. If you don't finish everything on your list, move the remaining items to the top position on the next day's list. You will be amazed at how much you can get done just by sticking to your list.

Get organized.

Moving the same piles around on your desk each day wastes an enormous amount of time. A messy, cluttered work area actually saps your energy and increases your stress. Commit a block of time to cleaning up your work area and setting up a system for managing your emails, paper trail and other time wasters at work and home.

I don't know how much stress you're currently dealing with, but anything you do today will start chipping away at it. Every positive action you take, no matter how small, will bring results. Respect yourself. You cannot keep all stress away from your door. It will come, whether through the demands you've set on yourself, from others or from day-to-day living. But when you learn how to keep stress under control, you will have accomplished something tremendous for yourself.