14 hours Ago By Mike Donghia
I have experienced several bouts of stress and plenty of peace in my life. I’ve reflected on and written about these times publicly and in my own journaling. The conclusion I keep coming back to is that stress is more correlated with my inner state than what’s happening around me.
It’s easy to blame circumstances for feeling stressed because they are often what puts us over the edge. But then you have to ask yourself why they don’t always do so. What’s the difference between the days when the stress boils over and the days you can handle it? As a parent of four young children, I test this theory daily.
A great example is that, depending on our inner emotional states on a particular day, my wife and I will respond very differently to our kids’ behavior. If stress was always a result of external frustrations, we would nearly always feel stressed at the same time. However, we swap roles often, each of us seemingly taking turns being more impacted by our children’s less-than-ideal behavior.
Those situations tell me it’s more about what else is happening in our minds than what’s happening around us. Of course, the two are related and feed into each other, but it’s not so simple as passing the blame to whatever pushes you over the edge. The good news is we have far more control over our experience of stress than we realize.
Certain lifestyle habits and the mind consistently produce less stress, and when applied, we can enjoy more peace and less turmoil in our lives. 1. Do What You Can 2.
Prioritize Rest for Your Body 3. Process With a Wise Friend 4. Exercise at the First Physical Signs of Stress 5.
Find a Truth Bigger Than Your Worries 6. Readjust Your Schedule or Expectations.
