Let’s face it. We live in a stressful environment. Society is fast moving. Situations comes to us at tremendous speeds. We have more responsibilities dumped in our laps than ever before. We also have more possessions, more opportunities and more choices. Along with all this comes more opinions, more social movements and more people yearning for attention (which is a basic human desire by the way). We get the good, the bad and the downright ignorant thrown in our faces everyday; all day. This post is inspired by a conversation I recently had with a very good friend of mine, Mr. Bryan R. Lewis. What is stress? Well if you ask the average medical professional, they will say that it’s physical, mental or emotional strain. The physical symptoms of stress are “supposed” to be the body’s natural way of dealing with feeling threatened. When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. When these hormones kick in, the body is preparing itself for serious action. Your heart pounds faster, muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, breath quickens, and your senses become sharper. The result of this is that your strength increases, your stamina goes up as well as your speed and reaction time. Your body is preparing itself to fight or flee. Remain in this state long enough and you will experience severe strain to your entire bodily system. All this is fantastic to know – but those are symptoms of stress, what is the real cause? Stress is caused by resisting reality. When you do not accept what is, you will resist it. Now, what do people resist most? Problems. Stress is generated from current problems that haven’t been solved. To take it up a level, this can also come from a perceived problem. A problem you may think is there (or soon to come) – that may not currently exist. Resisting unresolved problems = STRESS. Resisting anticipated future problems = STRESS. When I was younger, I worried about what any young man worries about. Becoming a failure, being broke, not being liked or accepted by women or my social circle. All these were perceived problems. They were generated from the way I thought. Every 9-to-5 job I held during this time also stressed me. I don’t like be told what to do by “unqualified” authority figures. I never liked being on someone else’s clock and time schedule. Working for someone else, for me, was a problem. Again, this was generated by the way I thought. You must learn to accept what is – reality. The reality is, if you work a 9-to-5 job, you will most likely never be wealthy. You will always have someone telling you what to do and how to do it. When you resist this, you are creating stress. Being in a subordinate position goes along with having a job, there is no way around it. Accept it. This is a reality. I recently had a talk with another friend of mine, a very smart and intelligent woman. She has been through some very rough times recently and many factors were beyond her control. She contacted me and you know what we talked about? Her problems. Problems with her children and her current living situation – the result of many small choices she made over the past year. This is the bed she made – and now she’s laying in it. These issues are problems – they all need to be solved or she will remain in a constant state of stress. She must accept the reality of where she’s at and what’s going on around her, without the resistance. When you accept reality (what something really is) – do you have to like it? No you don’t. Just recognize it, and find a solution to the problem. When you anticipate future problems, accept reality – where are you at NOW? Does this “problem” currently exist, right NOW? No it doesn't. Accept reality. Recognize that there "might" be something coming, prepare a solution to the "possible" problem and let it go. Worrying about it is resistance and resistance causes stress. HOW TO BEAT STRESS IN 5 MINUTES: 1st minute: Take a few deep breaths to release some tension. 2nd minute: Think about what you’re resisting. 3rd minute: Accept the reality of the situation. 4th minute: Identify the problem and where it’s coming from. 5th minute: Create a way to solve the problem. Remember this formula as T-TAIC (Tee-Tack). Simple, isn't it? Just doing this mental work alone will immediately release stress and tension in the body. Don’t believe me, try it for yourself. Is this the “be all” cure? No. There are some deeper layers to this topic but we don’t have room here. What I do want you to take away from this post is simply this… Stress is caused by resistance to reality. And what we resist most, are problems. Life is a series of problems that must be solved. Peep Game. Until next time, keep it moving. Want more? Subscribe to the Uncommon Sense Adviser – Free news, early access to future books, discounts and answers to questions too controversial for the blog. Join now by clicking [HERE].
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