Perception and Stress

This post came from a Sales Training organization in town and I thought it held some points that may be helpful if applied to stress overall because we all know stress affects our eating habits and weight....

Problem:
Mike is "burned out." He feels under stress a great deal of the time. His response to this pressure is learned helplessness, the giving-up reaction. This quitting response seems to have followed his perception that he has no control over his situation. He blames "bad karma" and the unfairness of life as the chief nemesis.

Diagnosis:
All experiences are filtered through our personal perception and our bias will distort them to fit our entrenched beliefs. So, much of our stress is not from the situation we face but rather our perception of it.

Prescription:
12 ideas about worrying wisely and changing our perceptions:

1. Look to be proactive.
2. Solve situations that are in your control.
3. Cope with things that are beyond your control.
4. Exercise with a friend.
5. 95% of our stress is in response to trivial vs. important.
6. Keep responsibility where it belongs.
7. Choose your battles wisely.
8. Use down time to be creative.
9. Do not run your engine at a breakneck pace all the time.
10. Do something for someone with no reciprocal agreement.
11. Re-Humanize yourself. Work is only a part of life vs. life itself.
12. If you had one month to live, how would this effect your perception?