Stress: Can You Truly Eliminate Stress

Some people say that stress is part of life. Their paradigm sees it as inevitable and unavoidable.

You can choose to live your life that way. I prefer knowing that I control my thoughts and how my world looks.

I am not saying nothing stressful will ever arise in your life. I am saying you can step back and change our interpretation of anything that pressures you or freaks you out. Know you can find a way to interpret life events so everything that happens serves your highest and best interest – in the big picture.

Even when awful things happen, after you calm your racing heart and return your breathing to deep full slow breaths then you can change your view of whatever horrific event happened.

More importantly, you can see the solutions that always come with the challenge, After all, there are no obstacles only opportunities.

People call that way of thinking Pollyanna thinking. They say that thinking positively doe snot work. And they are right. Positive thinking is, as I witness it in others, a way of hiding from the truth, sugar-coating it as if nothing is wrong and all is perfect.

Positive thinking does not work. But then negative thinking does not work either. Why in the world do people call reality the negative interpretation of life?

No, neither negative nor positive thinking will move you out of stress and into happiness. That path requires accurate thinking.

What is accurate thinking?

Events just are what they are. They have no meaning.  You give them meaning. You give an event one meaning and I give that exact same event an entirely different meaning.

So now who is right? Both of us and neither of us.

My interpretation fits for me while yours fits for you. Yet neither is an accurate view of what actually transpired.

Accurate thinking ends all strife forever because it leads you to the only and perfect truth that there is no where to go and nothing to get. Life simply is what life is. What happens happens.

You can feel wigged out about what happens. Or you can accept what happens. Which thought leads you to the emotions that then move you to the appropriate action for you? By appropriate I mean the action that leaves you feeling really good, at peace and – therefore without stress?

Do you see that your thoughts make the deciding factor as to whether or not you live in stress?

Ready to do something about it?

Core Values: Where Do Core Values Come From

Core values drive you determining whether you will find success or failure in life. When you run into a clash among different values, those with the highest priority win out over those that are less important in the situation at hand.

How do you create your core values?

Take a moment to think about what is really important to you…
integrity, health, being happy, truth, well being, being supportive, being logical etc

Really take your time and write down your list of what matters to you in your life. Your values help you decide who to date and who to marry, where it is okay to work and where you would really shine at work, what you do for fun, how you practice your spiritual beliefs, etc. Every aspect of your life reflects what you believe to be in your highest interest.

Seriously, take ten minutes to list your top ten values. Then place them in the order that you think goes from most important to least important. Do this now because your results will reveal how and why your life flows or flutters as it does.

Done? Okay, now look at each value one at a time. Make a note next to each describing (very briefly) why you hold that value so close to your heart and feel it necessary that you live in alignment with it.

This step is crucial so do it before reading further.

Now that you now why each value holds the place it does on your list ask yourself if you created that value in your life and gave it a high priority because in the past someone acted in a way contrary to your value leaving you feeling bad or hurt.

What do I mean? For most of my life I placed honesty as my top value. When I stopped to understand why honesty was so very important to me (I mean I need to live in honesty AND I only tolerate others in my world who also live in honesty) I discovered I never wanted to be lied to or deceived again.

You see, deception had been a common theme in my life as a child and also as an adult. Realizing that reality made me stride to live as an up-front honest person. That same value played a crucial role in my choice of partners, friends and colleagues.

The bottom line is I wanted to avoid and move away from dishonest people. By doing so I figured I could avoid a lot of potential stress from ever entering my life.

What I found is moving toward I want, rather than away from what I do not want, is far more empowering. I continued to attract dishonest people so long as I tried to avoid them!

Consequently I re-examined all my priority core values for whether I wanted them in my life or wanted to avoid having them in my life. My result? I created a new list of core values and new priorities for those that remained on my list.

Core Values: Core Values Drive Your Success or Failure

Core values are your beliefs about what is important to you. They operate as integrity checks for how you live your life all across your life including both personal and professional areas.

Ultimately your success or failure in life depend on whether or not you live in alignment with your core values.

Most people never stop to actually think about what their core values are. Those who do fail to question exactly why those are so important to them. They also fail to list them in a priority order.

Why do your core values matter? Even more important, what role do they play in your life?

Did you ever do something that didn’t feel quite right? Do you work in a job you really do not like? Do you work every hard yet produce little forward progress in your life?

Your core values are those that matter most to you. Acting as a sort of sentry, they nudge you when you take actions that run contrary to what you believe is right for you and in your highest and best interest.

What do I mean? Someone who truly believes in recycling and living green yet works in an environment that wastes natural resources or, even worse, pollutes the world, constantly battles their core values. That kind of stress (going against one’s natural grain) leads (slowly but steadily) to emotional and physical health issues.

The stress usually happens in small increments and goes unnoticed until the major illness or condition stops them cold! Even then, people tend to blame other environmental issues for impacting their well being and never recognize the basis of their suffering, the true cause, is living a life that contradicts how they feel, deep in their heats at their core, how they want to and “should” live.

When you stop and look at successful people you discover they live in harmony with their core values—whether or not they are aware of doing so. Similarly, when you observe people who consistently fall short of the success they seek you see that they live a lifestyle that is blatantly out of alignment with their value system.

Health, as a physical, emotional, and spiritual concept, demands harmony across the board.

People who choose a job simply intent upon creating an income will not succeed to the degree they would if they choose to perform a job that fits their value system.

Performing tasks you do not believe in, feel strongly against doing, or weigh on your heart pose perpetual obstacles on your forward path. To end stress and live your Very Excellent Life learn how to know what your core values are and their order of importance to you.

How to Reduce Stress At Work

Many people suffer severe stress at work. Diverse elements contribute to that experience.

First and foremost, in today’s economy, people will tell you they are so glad to have a job they continue working in their jobs even though they completely hate everything about the job. They hate the work. They hate the environment. They hate the people. They hate the product or service they provide.

Yikes! When you hold so much negative energy it is a wonder they don’t fall over with a heart attack from holding in so much negative energy!

Hmm. Many do – wind up with heart attacks, that is.

The first thing to do to reduce stress at work is to do something you love. Do something that is in alignment with your core values.

The bottom line is that you cannot succeed to any great extent when your work does not directly support your core values. You probably will not succeed at all if you work against what you hold dear in your value system.

Your work environment can create stress without you even knowing it is happening. Today’s modern buildings tend to be energy efficient, which means they are airtight. No air exchange happens between inside and outside air

What does that mean for you?

If your inside air continues to recirculate all day long the germs and lower oxygen in it will impact your energy level which in turn will lower your efficiency and leave you feeling not so good without knowing why.

You may be sitting on a chair that does not allow you to sit comfortably while supporting your posture. Poor posture leads to spinal misalignment which leads to all kinds of health issues.

And then there is that computer. Is the monitor at the proper distance and on the best angle for your eyes? How about the keyboard? Is it where it needs to be, ergonomically speaking?

Do you have space to get up and walk around every half hour? Your eyes and body need that break when you read on a screen all day.

And if you do look at a computer screen all day your eyes may feel less stressed with specially made computer glasses. Pinhole glasses are available online. Prescription glasses that differ from your ordinary glasses may help too. A developmental or behavioral optometrist can make you such a pair.

If you do find yourself working at a job that goes against or fails to support any of your core values then continue to do your very best at this present job while looking for and requesting (from the Universe) the job you really want.

Celebrate You

You are a celebration of life! Yes, YOU! Watch the video to discover what to do to live your Very Excellent Life starting NOW. Then join the conversation. Tell us your life’s purpose and how we can support you in fulfilling on it in the comment box below.