Threefold Formula to Manage Stress

Normally, our body and its systems are conditioned to cope with stressors. But there is an optimum level at which each one of us can cope with stress and still function well. When the limit is exceeded, we become victims of stress. Learn how to overcome it

"To accept is to triumph over circumstances and not let them touch the joy and the peace of the soul. Resistance inevitably leads to wastage of energy which could be used to constructive ends. Do your very best to achieve your desired results"

There are hundreds of experiences in our everyday lives which cause stress. These stress-causing events are called stressors. These stressors can create good stress (positive stress) or distress (negative stress).

Threefold formula for stress management:

Firstly,we must be careful to see that we always have a positive attitude towards life. By positive attitude, I do not mean that life does not have a negative side. Life does have a negative, a dark side. Life is full of difficulties and dangers, trials and tribulations. But the man with the positive approach refuses to dwell on the negative side of life. Surrounded by the most adverse condiditions, all around him may be frustrating, but he will not give up. He will continue to expect the best results and this is an inviolable law of life. What you expect persistently, comes rushing to you. For you only draw to yourselves, that which you think of all the time. Your thoughts are magnets. Through your thoughts, you draw to yourselves conditions and circumstances of which you keep on thinking all the time.

Always have a constructive, positive approach towards life. There is a picture I saw many years ago. It was a picture of two buckets, each half filled with water. Outside one bucket, there was a face with a frown and underneath were written the words, “Of what use is it to be half empty all the time?”

Outside the other bucket, there was a face with a smile and underneath were the words, “I feel grateful to God that I am at least half full all the time.” The two buckets symbolise the negative and positive attitudes towards life. The man with the negative attitude wears a frown on his face. He is always resentful and morose. He feels rejected, unwanted and is never happy. He cannot face the stress and strain of life in the right spirit. The man with the positive attitude wears a smile on his face, is buoyant, full of energy. He has the strength to face the difficulties and Normally, our body and its systems are conditioned to cope with stressors. But there is an optimum level at which each one of us can cope with stress and still function well. When the limit is exceeded, we become victims of stress. Learn how to overcome it dangers of life, in the right spirit.

The second point of the formula is, we must not offer resistance to life.

Life has given me many things. Some of them are good. Some of them are not as good. I must accept them all and make the most of them. Of course, I must not be fatalistic. I must not take things lying down. But if, in spite of my best efforts, I am not able to achieve the desired results, I must accept the situation. Acceptance is not a passive thing. To accept is to triumph over circumstances and not let them touch the joy and the peace of the soul. Resistance inevitably leads to wastage of energy which could be used to constructive ends. Do your very best to achieve your desired results, but, if in spite of your efforts, you fail, let that not depress you. The great Cosmic Power that controls the universe knows what is good for you. So accept, and rejoice!

The third point in the formula is that we must always see the good in others. The negativity that we see in others often shifts to us. If we consider the faults of others, these faults will, in due course, become part of our own nature.

Most of our lives are wasted either feeling guilty about the past or worrying about the future. Trying to be in another time zone whilst physically being present in the now is a big stressor.

When challenges stare at us, we are so overwhelmed by their sheer impact that we analyse its past and predict its effects on the future. It is important that we deal with the problem in the present moment consciousness. This helps to tackle the problem in a practical way.