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Stress, while not a four letter word it’s often expressed through them. Why, after decades of research into the causes and effects of stress have we not mastered it yet? Well, actually, we have and very well indeed. Most people know how do stress so well they could have a PhD in it. If you ask a room full of people, “who knows what stress is,” everyone in the group will raise their hands and begin to rattle of a dictionary’s worth of experiences and symptoms. And yet, we’re still mystified by it, as though it’s an unseen force directing our lives when in reality it’s more like an untrained dog running the household.
Stress is really more of a feeling; a pressurized, overwhelmed, stretched to the max kind of feeling in response to the demanding situations and circumstances of our lives. If we don’t want to feel stressed, we have to alter how we react to the events in our life. As we learn to take charge of our stress reactions we master the art of transforming stress. This means responding to life’s stressful situations, from those daily irritations to major crisis, from a place of calm and confidence. Over time, as we cultivate a state of inner balance we begin to see this mirrored in our outer lives. Eventually the situations we use to find stressful no longer cross our path or enter our doorway.
Reflect for a moment on how you typically react to stressful situations; do you panic, worry, blow up, melt down, run away, hide, blame others, beat yourself up, dramatize, bulldoze, shutdown, complain, or all of the above? Many people have a combination of their favorite stress reactions for any given day. The results are not pretty though, often affecting one’s health, relationships, career, and family.
A way to master the art of transforming stress and all its consequences is by shifting your typical stress reactions into healthier response styles. How would you like to respond to stressful situations? There are four attitudes that will support you in adopting a new healthier style; acceptance, ease, amusement and gratitude. The next time you encounter a stressful situation, take a breath and choose one or more of these and watch the stress melt away.
Acceptance
If you find yourself reacting with one of your typical stress reaction styles, notice if you are in a state of resistance; that place of fighting or denying reality. Instead, try accepting the situation as it is, whether you like it or not, as this will create a reprieve where new possibilities and solutions can emerge. Practice accepting the people and circumstances of your life as they are in the moment and notice the feeling of relief.
Ease
If you tend to go into effort when stressed, only struggle will ensue. Tension, headaches and other body aches are triggered by holding, effort and struggle reactions. Letting go of effort and struggle and moving into a state of ease will unlock the bottleneck pressure and allow situations to flow more smoothly and productively. Notice the next time your jaw or hands are clenched or you feel like you are ‘trying’ to make something happen and instead choose to relax and allow the situation to unfold with ease.
Amusement
Do you become very serious when under pressure? Does being serious support the situation or help you to feel better? Switching to amusement will lighten both your mood and your load. A little bit of laughter goes a long way to easing stressful moods and to resolving problems as it opens and broadens perspectives. If you find yourself getting too serious, think of something funny, or imagine pushing your amusement button and feel every cell of your body giggling with one another.
Gratitude
When you’ve been experiencing ongoing stress, do you hear yourself complaining to others about it, or griping in your mind? This only creates more resentment and heaviness. If you truly want to feel less stressed and want to find solutions, focus on what’s going well in your life instead of on what’s going wrong. What we focus on grows so by noticing the uplifting aspects of your life you will feel uplifted. And because like attracts like, you will bring more positive experiences into your life. Try it now and notice how it wonderful it feels.
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Author Resource:-
Gini Grey is a Transformational Coach, Writer and Spiritual Teacher. She is the author of the book, 'From Chaos to Calm: How to Shift Unhealthy Stress Patterns and Create Your Ideal Balance in Life', and the CD, 'Create What You Want in Your Life'. For more information visitGini Grey or to read transformational articles and receive a monthly complimentary E-zine, visitInsights & Inspiration.
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