It's always something!

Balance, and the effort to achieve it, are probably the most difficult challenges we all face in an effort to achieve peace of mind and contentment. There are so many constantly changing variables which can distract and derail even the most diligent and concentrated of folks around.

We have our health; finances; family and friend relationships; work environment; education; environmental factors; home and transportation maintenance; among the many that are constantly tugging at us with new and old conflicts. Just when you feel you have tamed the proverbial beast of tasks, something new pops up, sometimes unexpectedly. Even when you feel you may have mastery over these basic life conditions and you sit down to relax and bask in your achievement, it is invariable that something else will break down. It is during these seemingly tranquil moments when tragedy can creep in and devastate your world. The late night call of a family member dying in a wreck or your spouse announcing a divorce out of the blue or your spouse announcing they are gay and leaving you for one of the same can take your breath away and leave you shaken and totally out of balance.

So, is this the master plan? Are we never supposed to achieve bliss by getting our ducks in a row? Are we destined to continually struggle through life, never to achieve nirvana?

Although it seems so, maybe the lesson is we should never rest on our laurels and always work for personal growth. When you get complacent, there is also the tendency to get lazy and to readily accept the status quo. It is the growing up and out that is enlightening and fulfilling, learning wisdom along the way through the trials and errors of achievement and failure.

You can insure yourself of a stress less life through the satisfaction that you have recognized and accepted that these are the day to day obstacles we all face, and to be grateful with your situation, whatever it is, since there are always others with greater challenges than you. Sometimes it is not fair, but that is life, and you just have to learn to accept it or change it, if you think you can.

Everyone who walks into your office every day or who you see on the streets, started their day in the same basic way that you did, but they have different baggage they are carrying. Some are dealing with the threat of losing their home, life, job, relative, or maybe even their mind. They may have had a knock down drag out fight with their family member or were told bad news about their kids being suspended from shool, etc. You just don't know, but one thing is certain, we all head into the day with tremendous issues we are confronting and different attitudes on how to approach them. The ones with a realistic, positive approach to addressing their issues will be more physically and mentally prepared and will have their expectations firmly planted in reality.

Some will not, and will blame the world for their problems and wonder why nothing ever works out for them. If they could only re-frame their thinking into a new world view and realize that since the beginning of man, our efforts to balance the world we live in is a never ending, constantly changing challange.

We have to continue to try and achieve this balance, even though we know our efforts will always be required, since there is no finish line to life! Get your mind in the right place to take on the day.

"It's amazing how good you can feel, when your mind is in shape!"

Come see us at www.stressless.com.

Recession Stress!

Let's face it, we are all in the same sinking boat. But just like anything in life, some of us have more obstacles thrown our way than others. Wherever you fit, you are not alone, and nobody has a good idea how long this economic 'tidal wave' is going to continue. So, what are some positive ways you can deal with it?

The first thing to do is quantify your situation and make a realistic assessment of your personal financial balance sheet. This will tell you, in no uncertain terms, what you need to do to keep your assets from becoming liabilities. Develop a "bare bones" budget, trim the fat, and cut unnecessary expenses.

Secondly, face the situation with a determined attitude that you will do everything in your power to survive. If you think and believe you can, you will succeed. Be positive and accept the fact that although life is tough enough, this recession is going to be temporary and will require some added strength of will and perseverance to get through it. Know that everyone faces the same situation, to some degree, and we are all trying to make it through.

Third, wake up every day and set aside quiet time to pray and meditate on your game plan. Use Guided Imagery to visualize your planned outcome and see yourself actually there, functioning in your new environment. Change is guaranteed. Embrace the change and be a catalyst for it.

Try to sleep and exercise regularly. Socialize, talk to family and friends, go to a coffee shop or grocery store and chat with folks. They are as scared and uncertain as you, but everyone likes to have someone to socialize and talk with.

Fourth, limit your media exposure to just key information and don't dwell on the constant negative news, it just reinforces the bad aspects of the recession.

Dust off your old hobby and get involved in a new project or pull out the "to-do" list and make things happen around the house for improvements. This will help you with your confidence and provide satisfaction that you have completed a worthwhile project, plus it will lessen your load of things to do. This accomplishment will add confidence to your mental arsenal.

Volunteer to help others and offer whatever you can of yourself or your things, including money, if you can afford it. Giving feels good and helps others. There may be someone on another level that will help you where they can. It becomes a self fulfilling mechanism to circulate positive energy and underscores that, we as humans, need other people to exist.

Some people have lost their jobs, some their houses, and some both! Although this is tragic, it is not the end. Accept the losses as happenstance and don't blame yourself. What you don't want to do is lose your health, both mental or body. For without your health, you are unable to do anything about your circumstances. There is a reason airlines instruct adult passengers to be the first to put on and use the oxygen mask before the kids. Kids are incapable of doing this themselves and rely on the adults or the healthy ones to be able to breathe.When you are incapable to put on a mask, you might die, and the same can be said for being in good health to weather the recession storm. ..you need your health to survive.

Understand that life is change and you are now experiencing fundamental societal and lifestyle changes that will probably be permanent. Adjust and keep flexible. It might be the best thing that ever happened to you when it is over.

Houses and jobs are replaceable... loved ones are not. Protect your family and work together to develop a plan that all understand their roles in making it happen. Communicate constantly, both the good and bad, so everyone knows where they and the group stands. Very important!

Your fear is based on what may have happened in the past or what you think the future holds for you. Live in the present and try to change what is in your world right now. Don't dwell on past failures or situations. They are history. The future is not here and it does no good to worry about it. Recognize you have a right and the capability to mold your future with your game plan. Make it happen!

Keep diligent. Don't give up. Think positive thoughts and give it your best effort. You will not be disappointed. The recession will end and you will be the better for it, after it is over, if you commit today to your plan.

Stop by at http://www.stressless.com/

Financial Stress

We all have it, some worse than others. It is really the number one stress issue among all mankind since it also is so closely tied to work.

Arguments with your significant other, children, friends, relatives, just name it and it happens.Why, because not only is money tied to personal value systems, but it is basic to survival. The stories that are out there due to the current crises is all too familiar and tragic. Some have come from basic greed, whether a lender or borrower. Some from ignorance, others from just bad timing or luck. But, we all suffer in one way or another.

The stress is constant and torturous which leads to chronic conditions like destroying body cells and lives. To a great degree, it is unavoidable and is just a fact we all have to deal with, whether you elect to or not. Those that recognize the condition and act, will come out ahead, not necessarily with the money problems solved, but with better health and clarity of thought. And in the end, that is really all that matters.

Listen to the victims of the California brush fires talk about losing everything and many without any insurance to cover their losses. The wise ones talk about " it was just a house and we still have each other" and "we are forced to start over and that has a certain ring or excitement to it". You may lose significant emotional items, but you never lose the memories, and without a clear mind and good health, what good are they anyway?

The majority of folks have no stress management plan and do not exercise, meditate, know how to relax,have a social network or give themselves to community projects. They will suffer the most. It is never too late to start and the sooner the better. Years of poor health and sedentary behavior can be overcome and quite frankly advance your biological system to survive years beyond it's current path of destruction. It just takes will power and commitment.

Why not change your life for the better and start your stress management program today. It will add years to your life and life to your years. You will not only feel better, but think better, and feel better about all the things and people around you.

Learn to forgive, pray, practice mindfulness, give daily thanks for all that you do have. Be glad that you are here and have a chance to get better and therefore make your life and those around you the better for it. The alternative currently is not very attractive!

Maybe it is a wake up call to all of us to just look what a great and fantastically complex human system we have that has evolved into the spiritual beings that we are. Once you break the cycle of your currently ill learned thought process and learn to see the world from a spiritual plane, then everything changes to wonder. You will not have enough time to enjoy all that life has to offer. So, make the effort, you will never be sorry and will stress less.

Come see us at www.stressless.com

The value of social contacts

Humans have a powerful instinct to socialize and to establish contact with other humans. It is in the DNA! A positive connection also creates a molecular change in our brains that helps to reduce stress and provide a comfortable feeling of being in good company. This need and benefit to connect has always been assumed, but is now getting scientific proof that it actually improves the psychology and biology of each person involved.

Of course, we all have our negative connections with co-workers, family, and friends. One day we are in love or have a great relationship, and the next day we are suing for divorce, quiting the job, or become estranged from family or friends. It's just the human condition and it has not changed since day one, or will it. But we all have felt the negative feelings of discomfort with an awkward situation with others and how great you feel when you are in love or have a closeness with family, friends and co-workers. All these feelings are produced by thoughts and they all alter our chemical composition in our brains.

There are more and more people becoming estranged and separated from friends and family as the single population has grown larger than the married segment, and the baby boomers age older and their spouses die or divorce. They all still need connections.

One of the great ways to connect, whether to stay connected or reconnect, is to send greeting cards. They are available for every conceivable event or occasion or you can invent your own. People appreciate a card since it shows that the other person cares enough to send you one and gives you a great vehicle to respond. E-greeting cards are benefiting from this trend and provide and easy and inexpensive way to connect.

Stress Less offers e-greeting cards at http://www.stressless.com/products.cfm?a=detailsub&i=24&s=85&sku=S5694&CFID=376616&CFTOKEN=57239856# and andyou can find free ones at "Free Stress Busters Ecards" at http://www.123greetings.com/encouragement_and_inspiration/stressbusters

Why not reconnect with someone you have not heard from in a long time or heal a wounded relationship with a greeting card. You will feel better, they will feel better, and you will help to reduce your stress. A real win-win situation!

Come see us at www.stressless.com to learn how to reduce your life stress and to life a happier life.

Stress Management is Personal Improvement!

Stress Management is all about personal improvement and one's motivation to change their lifestyle for the better. We all know we are all stressed out at work and home with money, relationship issues topping the charts for cause and effect.

To our surprise, the majority of folks wear their stress as a "badge" to let everyone else know how bad it is for them getting attention and sympathy. However, those that want to reduce stress and their life, will "get it" that it takes a major, personal commitment to engage in stress reduction activities.

Let's see, they involve getting exercise,eating right, learning how or taking the time to relax and detach, and changing their thinking. All of these take concentration,effort, trial and error, and long term change which is what the vast majority will not do. Why? Generally, because it takes effort and discipline which people do not want to engage in. It is much easier to watch tv than the walk or jog. A good hamburger and fries tastes a lot better that baked fish and greens.

So, the reality is that for the people of the world to reduce stress and learn how to life better and longer lives, they must pass the threshold of the benefit of short term pleasure to long term satisfaction. It is a process and needs to be ingrained into the fabric of your existence that planning the 4 step process of exercise,eating right,relaxation, and mind change is a life long pursuit that will pay off in spades. But first, you have to convince yourself!

Start the process and come visit us at www.stressless.com

The Solution is the Problem!

Stress Management is the art and science of convincing yourself that you are worth the extra time and effort to eat right, sleep properly, exercise regularly, and work on your positive mental affirmations. We all know what to do, but very few make the change to get "in the groove". The most common excuse is "not enough time", "too busy", etc.

Not that the excuse is not valid and some people literally have schedules or commitments so numerous that adding another layer of time commitment would shatter their minds! However, it becomes a time management challenge to determine what trade offs can be made to schedule exercise, meditation, relaxation, and proper eating/sleeping into the daily mix. To add them all at once could be problematic, but just as you break down tasks to tackle one objective at a time, this can also work with readjusting your daily patterns.

What about waking up or going to bed a little earlier so you can meditate, get more sleep? How about going to the gym before work (recent articles show several folks who get to the gym at 4:30am before work due to children or other conflicts) or after work? Instead of watching TV, go to a quit room and meditate. Start to replace whole milk with skim, toss out the cookies and replace with apples,oranges, bananas, or nuts. Reduce portions and think "calories".

All of these and more are the ways you can start to turn your life around to feel and be better. Losing weight and knowing you are doing exercise to improve your health ups your self esteem and literally makes you feel better and increase your metabolism. Weight training helps burn more calories and starts to define your body leading to lower weight and higher self esteem.

There is nothing bad in any of the activities and nothing but good in the result. In addition to getting in shape and feeling good, you will be increasing your stress tolerance when the inevitable crises enters your life.

The reason airlines want to adults to use the oxygen mask first is that you need to be capable to help younger/older, less capable people. The same applies to being in shape and having stress tolerance.

It is the toughest transition you will make, but when you finally decide to include the "four leg" program of exercise, mindfulness, eating and relaxation into to your lifestyle, you will be a content, happy person, with stress resiliency and longevity.

Come see us at www.stressless.com and let us help you get in the groove.

Stress Coach

Stress Conundrum!

The recent APA "Stress Survey" told us what we already know:

-Roughly 75% of people accept stress as a fact of life, it can make you sick, and they are aware of strategies they can incorporate into their lives that will help them manage stress.

-An equal number experienced mental and physical symptoms in the last month as a result of stress.

-Most people attack stress with negative behaviors like smoking,drinking, or eating and sedentary reading or listening to music, although healthier, do not utilize the body's ability to burn off stress.

-The desire to "feel better" is the number one motivator for people to change, yet only 1/3 said they would "probably" change if confronted with a chronic condition as result of stress.

See http://www.apa.org/releases/stressproblem.html for summary of the study.

Basically, what we have here is the number one contributor to people's health outcome being totally understood and recognized, but people are not willing to modify behavior, which takes effort and perseverance, to reduce and manage their stress to cure or prevent these inevitable problems from occurring.

Why is this? Probably because behavior change is so hard to do and bad behaviors are so easy, available, and relatively cheap. They help you escape and "feel good" temporarily. Exercising, eating right, and practising cognitive change and relaxation exercises takes too much time, effort, and has a delayed gratification effect. The "magic pill" does not exist and never will.

IBM just announced they will pay $150 to each of their 128,000 employees who sign up a child to take a 12 week on-line exercise/diet course. This is a "pain avoidance" strategy since they can save hundreds of millions in health insurance claims if these people change their behavior.

The future lies with the people who can make the tough transition to a regular stress management regimen. They will not only feel better, but will look better, and their bodies will last longer and function better.

When do we start? Come see us at http://www.stressless.com/.