The Secret to Understanding Stress

With all that is going on in the world today, stress levels can reach all time highs. Inflation, recession, crime, companies in trouble, layoffs and the list goes on. If you dwell on any of these you can worry yourself into physical exhaustion. It is difficult not to focus on these things. They are in the news and in conversations at work. Stress creating events are all around us. Stress is an important part of life. It is the binding fiber that allows you stand, walk or do any task. Think about it. If it were not for stress you would crumble to the ground. It takes stress in your muscles for you to stand. Should you go unconscious while standing, all stress is removed from you body and you fall down. Stress helps you survive. Stress gives you the ability to get through each day of your life. If this is true, then why is stress considered a killer in today’s society? The reason is our response to events in our lives and in the world around us. Stress can be bad or good. The problem is that we often look at a situation and put our own interpretation on it. We take a small event and make it larger. We take a big event and make it huge. We take stress and turn it into worry. Stress tightens us up and prepares us to take action. Worry takes stress to the next level and turns a potential positive into a negative. You may be thinking that this is just playing with words. In a way it is, but that is how we make decisions. We play with words until the situation fits our beliefs. Your political party of choice depends on how you have interpreted words or events that fit your belief system. It is what we believe to be true that determines how we respond to events. It is what makes us a liberal or a conservative. We could just as easily have opposite beliefs and opinions if we had a different background or upbringing. Just as we believe in one political party or another, we also believe what is stressful and what is not. We respond to situations based on our beliefs. Beliefs are not necessarily facts, but they are emotional responses. Here is and example of stress and how it can be interpreted. You just got laid off from your job and there are not many jobs in your area. This created stress and worry (like an unconscious body crumbling to the ground) or it can create a mental resolve to tackle this problem head on (like a runner putting full energy into winning a race). Your mental interpretation of the lay off determines how you will handle the situation. You could go home, lie down and cry or you could write a new resume and immediately start looking for work. You could feel defeated or look at unemployment as an opportunity to change careers, get a job you like, or even move to a new city. One belief systems tells you that your life is in trouble, while the other belief systems tells you there is an opportunity here to change your life for the better. One causes stress and worry; the other creates optimism for the future. One has you lie down and worry about what to do next, the other has you taking action to find a solution the problem. ©copyright 2010 Sakthi’s Marketing Ltd, All rights reserved rnhttp://www.thehealthwealthhappiness.co.uk/