“I’m so stressed.” It’s difficult to go through a day without hearing this phrase at least once, especially at this time of year. But is stress supposed to be so commonplace in our lives? Is stress normal?
Actually, stress isn’t always a bad thing. When you’re in danger or are facing a challenge, you need the physical stress response that results. Your heart rate increases and adrenaline is pumped into your muscles so you’re ready for action.
This physical response is exactly what you need when you’re being chased by a Doberman, but the chronic, low-grade anxiety type of stress doesn’t benefit you at all. You may assume you just have to accept that anxious feeling about your holiday to-do list, but you don’t. And you may think it’s normal to feel worried about your job or finances, but it isn’t.
We tend to blame our stressed-out feelings on our circumstances, but being stressed-out is a direct result of what we think and believe, not what we’re experiencing in life.
We can fall for the lie that we have no control over stress, but it’s not true. While we can’t always control what happens to us, we can always choose our reaction. We can also choose our focus.
Blaming the circumstances does nothing to alleviate stress. Think about it: one person might be completely stressed-out handling a job while another with the same job can be handling it just fine. The issue isn’t really about what’s happening to you. It’s about how you process what’s happening to you.
It all comes down to what you think and believe about your situation.
You see, stress is often the result of being overrun by thoughts of worry and anxiety about what you have to do. When you face a stressful situation, your mind goes into imagination mode. If all you see is a negative outcome, you will begin to become very anxious, but you can break out of this stressed-out existence. You don’t have to stay focused on worry.
When you’re feeling stressed, take time to assess what you’re thinking about. Are you imagining the worst? You may not even realize that you’re doing it, but when you become consciously aware of what you’re thinking about, you can choose to let go of the negative and focus on the positive instead.
If you’re feeling stressed out this holiday season, think about what you’re thinking about. Are you imagining the worst case scenario? Are you assuming that everything will go wrong? Your thoughts have a profound impact on your physical health and sense of well-being. So why not imagine the best?
Leon Fontaine is internationally renowned for his ability to equip people with skills for life. He is the CEO of Miracle Channel and senior pastor of Springs, a contemporary church with six campuses across Western Canada. Visit www.leonfontaine.com for more great articles as well as weekly videos and podcasts. Email your comments to [email protected].
